


the perfect one-night standee

by candymin



Series: the future is bubblegum pink [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Clairvoyance, Drinking, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, Finger Sucking, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda One-Sided, M/M, Making Out, Mentions of homophobia, One Night Stands, Semi-Public Sex, Sexual Tension, donghyuck the party animal, get yourself a best friend like jaemin, mentions of smoking, past markhyuck - Freeform, side renmin, sorry mark lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:49:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28838823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candymin/pseuds/candymin
Summary: “I’m not looking to get in bed with you, Donghyuck. Get over yourself,” Jeno says in a low tone that only spurs Donghyuck more.“Mm, you say that,” Donghyuck brings the glass to his lips slowly, “but you’ve been checking me out all night,” he takes a sip, eyes boring into Jeno’s over the rim.Jeno turns to face him completely and snorts, though not denying. The ghost of a sly smile appears on Donghyuck’s lips.The game is on.or: the nohyuck sequel to the future is bubblegum pink! can be read as a stand alone but it makes more sense in the context of the series.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Series: the future is bubblegum pink [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114505
Comments: 16
Kudos: 142





	the perfect one-night standee

**Author's Note:**

> hi :D i finally got around to posting this spin-off sequel of tfibp!!  
> not gonna lie, this fic was a big challenge! it gave me a lot of headaches and i found myself stuck at almost every scene, but ultimately i'm happy with how it turned out :]  
> trigger warning! there is a homophobic slur in part 7 (the f word), it's only mentioned once, around this part: [“He was,” he recalls with a pained smile.] and it's something hyuck got called by his boss at one point in the past
> 
> huge thank u to my friend and beta [ti](https://twitter.com/noceurtiniti) for the support <3  
> this fic also has a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7H03ornKOs6rgrPsndSKWY?si=eXL36Tu1RZKd4evEOPYYug):D
> 
> and last but not least, this was my first time writing explicit sexual content so i apologise if it was subpar hhh  
> i hope you enjoy!

#  **1.**

Donghyuck is a very honest person, brutally honest even, which is as good as it is bad sometimes. Sure, he tells little white lies like everyone else ( _“Yes, the sex was fantastic, Yangyang”, “No, Jaemin, I totally loved your blueberries muffins”_ ), stuff that doesn’t have much of a negative impact on others (well, mostly), but other than that, he doesn’t sugarcoat his words. 

It’s not that he’s a saint — no, nothing of the sort — it’s simply ingrained in his personality and more often than not, he comes across as a heartless asshole rather than a good-willed member of the society. 

So yes, Donghyuck doesn’t usually lie, but in all his 20 years of life he told one (1) big lie. 

You see, Donghyuck labels himself as a psychic or a clairvoyant and, much like his best friend and fellow future seer Jaemin, at the ripe age of 18 he got a vision from his soulmate’s point of view. 

And it just so happened he was standing in front of his locker in the hallway of their university, gazing into a conveniently placed mirror. And so, Donghyuck knew exactly what his soulmate looked like — a gorgeous, dark-haired boy, no less — and it was the best case scenario, the envy of every other clairvoyant out there! 

At least that’s what Jaemin thinks. 

The much grimmer reality reveals that Donghyuck spent 6th of June, his own birthday, alone. He had waited, from as soon as when the clock struck 12, all the way to the last second of the day and the reality crushed him. No boy, no girl, no one at all… no vision.

But surely, it had to be a mistake, so Donghyuck asked every teacher he had at training, read every article he could get his hands on and spoke to everyone who’d ever found themselves in his unfortunate situation and to his dismay, the reality was simply that: just like birth is a lottery of genes, so is clairvoyants’ power of seeing their soulmates. 

Now, Donghyuck didn’t consider himself a hopeless romantic by any means, but there’s just something so intrinsically magical about being certain of the one you’ll share your life with, something that he had been waiting for nights on end ever since he learned about it, clutching the end of his duvet and tiring his young mind in hopes that maybe, _just_ _maybe_ , he could get a grasp of his vision in advance. 

So when the realisation hit him, he was devastated. He was devastated when faced with Jaemin’s interrogation about his soulmate, he was devastated when Jaemin himself got his own vision, a little over two months after, and he’s been devastated ever since. So devastated, in fact, that he succumbed to a vast array of (sometimes unhealthy) escapism techniques. And one of these techniques just so happened to involve the university’s sweetheart, one bright and bubbly basketball player by the name of Mark Lee. 

He met Mark just like he met all the others that came before and after him: at a house-party. Donghyuck had just graduated from high-school and enrolled in the local university, but his reputation as the best party host was already well-spread throughout Pyeongtaek, both thanks to his ever absent parental figures and to the fact that the town’s party animal population could fit into one 200 square meters house. 

And it did, almost every first Friday of the month. Why should university be any different? 

And so this brings us to the first Friday of October. Mark was a sophomore — a very sought after one at that — but it didn’t take long between the moment he walked in through the door, casual button-up shirt tucked into his black jeans, and the moment he had Donghyuck pressed against his bedroom wall, right hand nails digging into the flesh of his hip as he drilled into him like there was no tomorrow. 

“Deeper,” Donghyuck breathed against the arm that was stuck to the wall, serving as a cushion for his cheek (because Mark was nice like that). “Ah, yeah, just like that, Matt,” he trailed off, mind running wild from pleasure.

Mark frowns, “It’s Mark,” he states simply.

“What?” Donghyuck half-asks half-moans, jaw going slack when Mark's cock hits a particularly good spot inside him. 

“My name,” Mark groans as he removes his hand from his hip, instead, curling his entire arm around his waist to bring him closer, “it’s Mark.” 

“Ahhh, yeah,” Donghyuck’s breath hitches in his throat with every thrust and he replies just as he reaches his high, “whatever.” 

It takes Mark a few more thrusts before his own climax, after which he slides out of him only to be left alone in the room within 5 minutes, and it takes Mark approximately 10 months before he’s completely over the train of soft skin, intimate giggles and witty comebacks that hit him that night. 

  
  


#  **2.**

“You don’t have to do this, Mark, I can carry my own books,” Donghyuck sighs defeatedly, knowing full well there was no stopping him. 

Mark throws him a proud grin as he leads him to his locker and carefully places the books inside. “I have practice right now,” he announces, “are you going to lunch?” Donghyuck nods as he grabs his lunch bag. “I’ll walk yo—”

“There’s no need,” Donghyuck cuts, giving him a harsh stare that Mark pays no mind to, in turn grinning even wider. 

“It’s on my way, silly,” he replies and Donghyuck purses his lips.

“Are we still on for tonight?” Mark asks before Donghyuck can run off to Jaemin’s table. 

“Yeah, sure,” he confirms, earning yet another blinding grin and this time, even a short, sweet and totally unacceptable peck on the cheek. _Gross._

“I’ll see you,” Mark whispers before waving to Jaemin and Jeno and finally taking his leave. Donghyuck scrunches his nose and furiously wipes at his cheek as he makes his way to his friends.

“That boy is mental!” he yells upon sitting down. 

Jaemin chuckles lightly. “He seems nice.”

“Well, yeah! That’s the problem! He’s too fucking nice,” Donghyuck barks back as he fumbles with his cup ramen. “I swear he’s getting so fucking annoying.”

“Well, why do you keep seeing him then?” Jaemin asks and Jeno looks up from where he’s been stuffing his face with his own noodles.

“He’s a good lay,” he replies with a mouthful.

“Are you sure that’s all there is to it?” Jaemin quirks an eyebrow, not bothering to look up from his notes. Donghyuck is briefly reminded that he should start studying for his finals. 

“Well what else would there be?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Jaemin looks up to see him frown in confusion. “Hyuck, you’ve been banging this guy for like 6 months, is it so wrong to assume you’ve developed feelings?” Donghyuck chokes.

“Feelings?!” he manages after downing half a bottle of water. “Why would you even say that? Are you _trying_ to kill me?” he accuses dramatically. 

Jaemin sighs, turning back to his notes. Jeno shifts in his seat.

“Don’t make me laugh, Jaemin. You know I don’t do feelings.” 

“Seems like he’s got different plans in mind,” Jaemin warns half-heartedly.

“And? I couldn’t care less. If he wants to fall in love with me, he can be my guest. I’m not his mum or something,” he states coldly. At that, Jeno gets up suddenly, with a loud screech of his chair. He grabs his belongings and leaves the table, but not before giving Donghyuck a death stare. 

“What’s up with him?” Donghyuck asks, earning a confused shrug from Jaemin.

“I have no idea, but Hyuck,” he calls, looking into his eyes, “you can’t act like this, okay? I get you wanting to preserve your no-strings-attached lifestyle but don’t drag Mark into this. He obviously has feelings for you and you’re leading him on.” Donghyuck opens his mouth to protest but Jaemin raises a finger. “Talk to him, tell him you don’t date and let him move on. It’s not fair,” he concludes.

Donghyuck huffs in frustration, ultimately giving in, albeit with a childish tone of voice: “Fine, I’ll talk to him.”

And talk to him, he tried to, except every time he opened up the subject, one thing led to another and he found himself in bed, unable to recall why he would ever give Mark — or rather, the pleasure that came with him — up. 

Ultimately, he snapped and, about one month later, he broke Mark’s heart not so gently, right outside his house when he came to let him know that he was moving back to Canada for an indefinite amount of time and that he was absolutely up for a long-distance relationship. 

And so the second year of university found Donghyuck in pretty much the same state as the first one: single, ready to throw the craziest parties and have fun and completely Mark-less. 

  
  


#  **3.**

The day started as usual. Donghyuck woke up to an empty house, walked downstairs to the kitchen, made himself a modest breakfast and proceeded to look into the future. He saw bits and pieces of the Hawaiian themed party he was throwing tonight, which revealed a lot of dancing, Jaemin freaking out, some broken glasses and puke, a pair of hands on his hips. 

All in all, an average day, he decided. He was debating on whether or not to check the identity of the man he was apparently gonna get railed by, but then his phone chimed and he was met with a racy picture from Renjun.

**renjunnie [11:03 AM]**

**[image attached]**

**do you think this look will make jaemin go crazy**

**i’m plannin on styling my hair up too ;)**

The picture showed him wearing a pink Hawaiian shirt with three (Donghyuck gasped dramatically) undone buttons, hanging so loosely over his delicate figure that the entire width of his neck and collarbones were on display, paired with some tight, black shorts. Donghyuck let out a chuckle.

Ah, yes. Renjun was a man after his own heart. 

  
  


**hyuckie [11:04 AM]**

**pair that with some glitter and lip tint and u’ll have him at your feet**

**go get him bestie!!~**

  
  


**junjun [11:04 AM]**

**hehe thanks <3**

  
  


He typed out a few more emojis and then turned back to his half-finished breakfast, looking around the living room and mentally planning where each decoration would go. Donghyuck had a knack for throwing themed parties and even more so, he loved having a special feature to make them memorable. The more ridiculous, the better. Which is exactly why as he mentally measured the centre of the room, right behind the couch, an idea struck him and he decided to make an important call. 

The phone rang four times before a groggy voice answered, most likely awoken from deep sleep. “...hello?”

“Hey, Johnny!” Donghyuck chirped, “yeah, this is Donghyuck,” he took a sip of his coffee, “listen, so about that jacuzzi…” 

**\---**

Donghyuck glances at his watch and debates whether it’s too early to down his sixth shot at 10:36 PM. It doesn’t last too long though and he’s back on the dance floor in a few seconds, the familiar whiskey burn lingering down his throat. He scans the room to the best of his abilities to find a certain Wong Yukhei, but his eyes settle on a dark-haired figure a few feet away from him instead. Jeno is swaying to the music, his hands planted on some girl’s hips as she’s more or less grinding on him. Donghyuck takes him in and can’t stop the whistle that escapes his mouth. Jeno is hot, there’s no secret there, but the way he looks tonight has Donghyuck feeling a different type of way, although that might just be the alcohol talking. He didn’t respect the Hawaiian dress code, more out of spite than lack of options, Donghyuck is sure, but with the way his white tank top hugs his chest and exposes his toned, veiny arms, he’s ready to give him a pass. Donghyuck was just dragging his eyes up from his ass (he’s wearing black, ripped skinny jeans, for crying out loud) when they lock eyes and he smiles shamelessly, as if he hadn’t been checking him out for the past five minutes. Jeno’s eyes don’t leave his, despite continuing to feel the girl in front of him and the fact that he didn’t avert his gaze with an annoyed scoff within the first ten seconds like he usually would is testament to his state of intoxication. Donghyuck hums, and in his hazy mind, he makes a note.

**\---**

He’s on his way downstairs after an inviting text from Yukhei when he stumbles upon a small Renjun slumping at the top of the stairs and watching over the crowd in the living room.

“Hey, you okay? Do you need anything?” Donghyuck asks, leaning down to hear his answer over the loud music. 

Renjun looks up at him with sad eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Donghyuck frowns and brushes the floor, sitting down next to him. “What did that coward do?” 

“He freaked out and left just as we were about to kiss,” he chuckles lightly. 

Donghyuck scoffs and lands a face to his forehead. “Why am I not surprised…”

Renjun lets out a laugh despite himself. “It’s just… I’ve been flirting with him for a while now and tonight it really seemed like it was going somewhere…” he trails off, looking over the party. “It’s not me, is it?” he asks with hopeful eyes. 

“Oh honey, it’s never you,” Donghyuck reassures, “Jaemin just has some… commitment issues… or rather, the opposite.”

Renjun gasps. “Is he hung up on some ex or something?”

Donghyuck hesitates. “...not exactly, but sure, you can say that.” Renjun furrows his brows, but doesn’t insist. “Listen,” Donghyuck searches his eyes and is pleasantly surprised to find that his vision is becoming less blurry, “even if nothing happens, you’re not at fault. And neither is he really, it’s just circumstances. I mean, look at you!” he leans back to give him a once-over, bumping into someone who was walking up the stairs in the process, “you’re a catch!”

Renjun laughs, waving him off. 

“I mean it,” Donghyuck grins, trailing off to check a message he just received. 

**yukhei ;) [1:13 AM]**

**i’m in the jacuzzi, you comin?**

He puts his phone back in his pocket, turning to face Renjun. “Listen, I have a very hot senior waiting to bang me downstairs, but if Jaemin doesn’t pull his head out of his ass within the next hour, text me and we’ll find you someone else for the night!” he says cheerfully as he’s getting up.

“A senior?” Renjun raises his eyebrows in surprise, “I could have sworn you and Jeno had something…“ 

Donghyuck stops in his tracks and turns to face him. “What?” He lets out a light chuckle. “Jeno hates me. Besides, I think he’s already taking someone home tonight,” he laughs, remembering the girl who’d been attached to his crotch earlier. 

“Oh please, don’t tell me you haven't noticed the way his eyes have been practically glued to your ass the whole night,” Renjun teases. “That someone is the second option.”

Donghyuck takes a moment to recall and finds that he’s actually seen more of him tonight than at past parties. Odd, considering Jeno normally does his best to actively avoid him. “Interesting…” he muses. “Thanks, Renjun,” he concludes and receives a smile before walking downstairs. 

He decides to refill his glass one last time before heading to where Yukhei was towering above the jacuzzi that Johnny set up in the centre of the room. He pours the last of a whiskey bottle in his crystal glass and leans back on the kitchen island to admire the view of the wet, shirtless senior. He’s interrupted by the sight of a door opening to his left and he turns his head to see Jeno emerge from a bathroom, leaving behind what looked like a slightly panicked Jaemin. _Yup, a normal party._

Jeno approaches the makeshift bar, standing next to Donghyuck as he pours himself a shot and downs it a little too sexily. Donghyuck stares at the way his Adam’s apple bobs and waits for the balance scale inside his mind to tilt. He can’t lie, he’s always been a little attracted to Jeno and he’s confident in his own charms — despite what Jeno might say — but considering that he seems to have a strong distaste for anything involving Donghyuck, for a reason he could never figure out, chasing after him would prove to be a challenge. Jeno glances at him briefly before running a hand through his hair. Donghyuck lets his eyes trail over his biceps and decides he’s always liked challenges after all.

“Are you trying to make me jealous?” Donghyuck asks with a playful tone. 

Jeno pauses to look at him. “Why the sudden itch?” he asks, emptying the shot glass.

Donghyuck shrugs half-heartedly as he waves to a friend from across the room. “Just thought I’d let you know being straightforward is more effective with me,” he comments.

Jeno looks into his eyes for traces of sincerity and laughs mockingly. “I’m not looking to get in bed with you, Donghyuck. Get over yourself,” he replies in a low tone that only spurs Donghyuck more. 

“Mm, you say that,” he brings the glass to his lips slowly, “but you’ve been checking me out all night,” he takes a sip, eyes boring into Jeno’s over the rim.

Jeno turns to face him completely and snorts, though not denying. The ghost of a sly smile appears on Donghyuck’s lips. _The game is on._

They stare over the mass of dancing students for a minute or so and Donghyuck’s eyes land on Yukhei to see that he wasted no time in finding himself another boy to kiss. He chuckles lightly and drowns the bitter taste in his mouth with more whiskey. _Ah, hookup culture._

He risks a peek at Jeno, who was now leaning back against the counter and bobbing his head to the alternative song that was playing. 

_Say, ooh you changed, you're not the same_

_You're different than the way that I loved you_

“If you were, though,” Donghyuck trails off and clears his throat, “trying to make me jealous, that is,” he says nonchalantly, setting his glass down behind him, “it worked.” 

_The way that I loved you_

Jeno stares at him for a moment. “You’re full of it,” he says, though not with a lot of conviction. 

_But honestly it won't matter in a day or so_

_So why are you so precious about it?_

Donghyuck leans closer to him, so close that he sees something set alight in his dark eyes. It’s enough of a confirmation, especially with the way Jeno’s eyes flutter to his lips for a fraction of a second, but Donghyuck is aware of the alcohol intake in both of their bodies and decides to ask anyway:

_So precious about it?_

“Do you wanna kiss me, Jeno?” he purrs, and from where he’s standing he can see his breath hitch before he apparently throws all caution to the wind and slams his lips to Donghyuck’s with such force that he causes him to stumble back and he’s left to grab at Jeno’s shoulders to steady himself. 

_It's just a curve upon the lips, the hips_

_Just the satisfaction of the twist, the twist_

The kiss is messy and rough and Jeno doesn’t hesitate before sliding his tongue down Donghyuck’s throat, who finds himself smirking into his lips. _I fucking knew it._

_Nothing the matter with a kiss, a kiss_

_Nothing the matter with a kiss, a kiss_

Donghyuck pushes him back and he lands unceremoniously on an armchair pushed against the wall before he slides over him, legs straddling his lap as he reconnects their lips. Jeno sighs into the kiss as one hand travels Donghyuck’s back all the way to his nape and the other grabs his thigh, squeezing gently.

_It's just a curve upon the lips, the hips_

_Just the satisfaction of the twist, the twist_

Donghyuck treads a hand through Jeno’s hair as the other rests over his _very firm_ chest. He moves closer to him and a moan escapes his mouth as he settles over his already hard bulge. 

_Nothing the matter with a kiss, a kiss_

_Nothing, it's just a little, ha, it's just a little_

_Ha, it's just a little kiss_

Jeno groans and squeezes his ass. He grows impatient and his mouth leaves Donghyuck’s in favour of peppering his neck with short, open-mouthed kisses.

_Na na na na na_

“Jeno…” Donghyuck speaks with a raspy voice, his eyes fluttering shut as Jeno bites lightly into the side of his neck.

_Na na na na na_

“Mm…” he replies.

_Na na na na na_

“I have a bedroom upstairs,” he whispers and Jeno abandons his neck to give him a nod.

_Ha, it's just a little ha, it's just a little_

  
  


#  **4.**

Donghyuck decides to get out of bed despite the way his body protests when he pulls off the duvet. He stretches his arms forward and does a double take when he checks the clock on the wall. 6:52 PM. He slept for 15 hours. 

He walks down the stairs, dreading the after-party cleaning that he’ll have to do, but to his surprise, the house is mostly back to normal. Where last night there was a giant jacuzzi in his living room and about a hundred sweaty people dancing, now just a few empty bottles and distressed flower garlands served as proof there was ever a party there. He grins to himself and dials his number. Johnny was his brother’s best friend and ever since Taeyong went away to Seoul for college, he assumed all of his brotherly responsibilities, which sometimes involved dealership of strange party props and keeping his gatherings a secret from his parents. God knows how many times he saved his ass mere seconds before they walked through the front door. Donghyuck loved him dearly. 

The phone rings twice before Johnny picks up.

“Hey, thanks for cleaning up, you didn’t have to,” Donghyuck says, taking a bite out of a rather suspicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich he’d found on the kitchen island.

 _“No problem, Hyuck. Did you just wake up now?”_

“Yup. Slept like a baby. I think I needed that,” Donghyuck replies just as the doorbell rings.

Johnny lets out a laugh. “ _You were safe last night, yeah? Was Yukhei a dick?_ ” 

“Yeah, I was safe. I actually got together with someone else,” Donghyuck says as he walks to the front door.

“ _Oh, really? Who’s the lucky boy_?”

Donghyuck opens the door. “Oh, just— Jeno?”

“Hey,” Jeno greeted simply. He was wearing a long padded coat and Donghyuck could see orange mittens where his hands were half tucked in his pockets.

“Uh, I’m gonna have to call you back,” Donghyuck hangs up and steps aside to let Jeno in. “Can I help you?”

“We need to talk about last night,” Jeno deadpans.

Donghyuck walks back to the kitchen and takes another bite of his sandwich. “What about it?” he mumbles. 

“I just wanted to make it clear that I still hate you,” he replies, unzipping his coat and taking a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

Donghyuck snorts, regarding him with an amused look. “Are you sure? It didn’t really feel like that when you were balls dee—”

“Can you not?” Jeno scrunches up his face in disgust. “It was a moment of weakness. I was horny and you simply happened to be there. Nothing more, nothing less. So please, don’t get any ideas.” Donghyuck quirks an eyebrow. “I still hate you,” he repeats. 

Donghyuck sees the opportunity and takes it. “I don’t know, Jeno…” he says, trailing a finger across his chest and leaning in so their noses are almost touching. Jeno smells like a mixture of caramel and aftershave. “You coming all the way to my house to tell me this when you could have easily texted me doesn’t really scream ‘I hate you’.” His eyes flutter to Jeno’s lips and he makes a mental note of how it’s the first time he’s seeing him this close. Well, sober, at least. “If anything, it kinda screams round two.”

Jeno grabs his wrist and leans back to put some space between them. “Fuck you,” he seethes and regrets it immediately when he sees the shit-eating grin on Donghyuck’s face.

“Time and place, baby.” 

He glares and Donghyuck cocks his head to the side with a giggle. “Too soon?” 

Jeno opens his mouth to retaliate but is quickly interrupted by a text chime. 

Donghyuck turns his head to the left to check his phone and his mouth drops. 

**nana [7:17 PM]**

**why is renjun acting like we didnt bone last night**

“Holy shit! Jaemin got laid?!” he yells incredulously, snatching his phone from the counter. A string of intelligible noises leaves his mouth as he scrambles to type out a reply. 

**the devil [7:18 PM]**

**YOU FUCKED RENJUN LAST NGIHTKDKF? &.??%#;’/!@?**

“Hello? I was saying something important here,” Jeno calls out, seemingly frustrated. 

Donghyuck lifts his head to look at him. “Trust me, there’s nothing more important than this,” he says, pointing to his phone. “I’ve been trying to help this prude tap something for years now. I can’t risk him fucking up because he’s overthinking or whatever.” 

“Well did you at least get my point?”

Donghyuck blinks. “Yeah, dude, you hate me and you never wanna fuck again, got it,” he mumbles, turning his attention back to his phone.

“Fine. I’m leaving, then,” Jeno announces, heading towards the front door. He opens the door and lets out a sigh. “Just. Please try to not mention this to _every_ person you meet at school.”

Donghyuck stares at him for a second. “Sure,” he confirms with a chuckle. “Oh, and Jeno?” The boy turns around and Donghyuck shoots him a playful smirk. “You’re a good lay.” 

Jeno scrunches his nose. “Thanks?”

“The offer still stands.”

“Yeah, goodbye Donghyuck,” he says, closing the door behind him.

  
  


#  **5.**

“So,” Donghyuck says, sitting down on the staircase and wrapping his arm around Jaemin’s shoulders, “are you ready to say goodbye to 2020?” 

“Oh, absolutely. This year’s been shit,” he replies absentmindedly, staring off into the crowd. Donghyuck follows his gaze and is not surprised when at the end of it he finds one Huang Renjun swaying his hips like there was no tomorrow. Donghyuck grins.

“Oh, come on. It wasn’t _that_ bad. Lots of good things happened this year!” 

Jaemin stares blankly at him. “Oh really? Name three.”

Donghyuck pauses for a second to think and then starts counting on his fingers. “You got laid, you got laid and you got laid!” 

Jaemin rolls his eyes. “That happened in December. A somewhat good month is not equal to a full year. Not to mention the emotional complications it brought me.”

It was Donghyuck’s turn to roll his eyes. “Well, it was a good year for me. Kinda. At least I passed all my exams and, you know, I’m healthy and all that.” He sees Jaemin stare at him from the corner of his eye and chuckles. “Come on, ask me. I know you want to.” 

“Do you miss him?” 

Donghyuck peels his eyes off of whatever hot stranger he was ogling to face him. “No, Jaemin, I don’t miss Mark,” he says, and he means it. “I know you’re concerned, but trust me, I didn’t fall in love with the guy.” 

Jaemin brings his knees to his chest to press his chin atop of them. He looks at Donghyuck with sad eyes. “It’s just… you never really told me about that night, you know.” 

Ah, yes. Once upon a time, back in July, just a few days after Mark’s untimely one-way trip to Canada, Donghyuck had what he thinks was probably the worst breakdown of his life. He cried for two hours straight and proceeded to call Jaemin over, only to cry for a few more hours into his shoulder. He passed out cold for 15 hours after that and then refused to leave his bed for 3 days. Jaemin didn’t ask, he never does, knowing full-well Donghyuck prefers the silent comfort of a hug over ranting or receiving advice. And so he moved in for a week and patiently waited for him to come out of his shell, like he usually does. Except this time, he never did. And now, almost six months later, Jaemin still has no idea what could have possibly happened in order to break his otherwise iron-clad best friend like that. And sure, it makes sense why he would assume it had to do with the boy who’d been stuck at Donghyuck’s hip (and other body parts) for the previous 7 months and who was now halfway across the world. And Donghyuck did like Mark a little at some point, even though those feelings soon dissolved when he started growing clingy, so as much as he wants to lie his way out of this situation, he finds that he can’t. 

“I— it’s a lot more complicated,” he sighs. “But it has nothing to do with Mark. If anything, it has more to do with the idea of a Mark.” Jaemin nods encouragingly, expecting him to continue. “Oh, come on. I’m always such a happy guy, didn’t it occur to you I’d snap at some point?” Donghyuck jokes, trying to lighten up the mood. 

“Oh, I knew you would. It wouldn’t be the first time anyway, but there’s always a trigger,” he moves closer and places a hand on his back, “and I think yours clicked a long time before that night.” Donghyuck’s eyes widen in surprise. “Hey, the last thing I wanna do is pressure you, okay? You’ll tell me when you want to, or not, for that matter. I just wanted to check in, you know, and let you know I’m here,” Jaemin concludes with a small smile. 

Donghyuck's heart swells as he’s once again reminded of why the boy in front of him is the most important person in his life. “I’ll tell you at some point,” he says, and then proceeds to lightly smack him on the head for making him tear up at a party where he’s supposed to be getting his guts rearranged. 

“Now get off your ass,” Donghyuck glances at his watch, “it’s already 11PM, let’s take some pictures.”

They walk downstairs into the hallway where they’re greeted by the photobooth that Johnny had helped install in the morning. It looks kind of ugly and it honestly ruins Donghyuck’s aesthetic so much that he decided to tuck it under the stairs, away from sight. 

Jaemin grabs his wrist and they slide past a couple making out at the bottom of the stairs, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be none other than Jeno and a girl from Donghyuck’s Digital Marketing class. 

Jaemin stops in his tracks and squints at them. “Oh, good, you’re here. Let’s go take some pictures,” he interrupts, grabbing Jeno’s wrist with his free hand and dragging him along. 

“Um, I’m a little busy here??” he protests, trying to squirm out of his grip, but to no avail.

“And I don’t care,” Jaemin replies when they enter the photobooth. He sits them down on the bench and crosses his arms against his chest. “It’s the end of the year and I want to take pictures with my best friends, so play nice, you two,” he says, pointing a finger between them. “You can suck face after,” he tells Jeno, who responds with an eye roll. 

Donghyuck snickers. “You heard him, we can suck face after,” he teases, making kissy faces at Jeno, who gives him a light push. 

“What did I _just_ say?” Jaemin warns half-heartedly.

He sits down between them, wrapping his arms around each of their necks. They take a few pictures and aside from the occasional glare and middle finger, Donghyuck and Jeno behave. 

“I’m gonna go find Renjun, I’ll see you guys at midnight,” Jaemin says, grabbing his set of pictures and darting out of the photobooth. 

“‘Kay, bye,” Jeno mutters in Donghyuck’s direction before attempting to flee. 

“Wait!” Donghyuck calls out, grabbing his shoulders and positioning himself in front of the small door. Jeno quirks an eyebrow. “I actually wanted to ask you something and seeing as you leave the room within seconds when I enter, this is the best chance I’m gonna get,” he straightens his posture defiantly and closes the sliding door of the photobooth, pressing his back against it. “So you’re not leaving this place until I get a satisfactory answer.” 

Jeno groans. “Donghyuck, I’m not playing any of your games.”

“It’s not a game, I just wanna know why you hate me so much,” he says, feigning an innocent smile. In reality, Donghyuck couldn’t care less about why Jeno had such a strong distaste for him. Sure, he was curious sometimes, but this was nothing more than a ploy in his plan of getting Jeno to crack under his spell once again. 

“It’s none of your business,” Jeno deadpans. 

“It— it literally is,” Donghyuck objects, dumbfounded. “I racked my brain and I couldn’t think of any time I’ve ever wronged you so please, do enlighten me.” 

“You’re simply annoying.” 

Donghyuck sighs dramatically and steps forward, causing Jeno to walk backwards, his back hitting the wall.

“ _Please_ , that can’t be it, there’s something bigger behind this,” he reasons and Jeno, honest to god, seems to believe he has good intentions for a second, his face softening ever so slightly, but then Donghyuck continues: “Is it simply because I’m sexy?” 

Jeno scoffs, shaking his head from side-to-side. “You’re unbelievable.” 

“I just don’t understand why you won’t admit it.” 

“Admit what?” Jeno asks, frustration evident in his tone.

“That you’re into me,” Donghyuck leans forwards. “You’re into me and the only reason why you’re not running out of here to hook up with that girl is because,” he pokes his chest over his heart with a finger, “deep down, you know it’s not her you’re after.”

“You’re only saying this shit to piss me off,” Jeno seethes.

“It’s working, though, isn’t it?” he grins.

“I can’t fucking stand you, Donghyuck,” Jeno yells, advancing, “you think the world revolves around you? You’re easily the most stuck-up, selfish brat I’ve ever met and the fact that you’re trying to rile me up right now as part of your… your stupid little mind games only reinforces that!” he points an accusatory finger, trapping Donghyuck into one of the corners of the photobooth. “You think everything is a fucking joke and you don’t give a shit about people’s feelings and I’m honestly so fucking done with it! _This_ is why I don’t like you!” Jeno concludes with a frown, breathing heavily. His nose is mere inches away from grazing Donghyuck’s own.

Donghyuck’s eyes widen for a moment and his mouth dries before a confident smirk finds his features. “You wanna kiss me so bad right now it makes you look stupid,” he whispers, more as a joke than anything else and he lets out a surprised yelp when Jeno does exactly that. It starts out rough as Jeno cups his cheek and presses himself against him, effectively pushing Donghyuck into the drywall and sending a jolt of arousal straight to his dick. His tongue slides down his throat and Donghyuck reaches one arm up to hold the back of his neck, as the other travels south to palm him through his jeans. Jeno groans in his mouth and jerks his hips forward, chasing the touch. His hands roam over Donghyuck’s torso before settling on his waist, fingers dipping into his sides as he temporarily disconnects their lips to leave a trail of wet, open-mouthed kisses across his jaw. Donghyuck sighs contently and sneaks his hands underneath his shirt to feel his abs, trailing upwards to his pecs.

“God, you’re so fucking hot,” he hisses, reaching down to tug at the hem of his shirt.

“Wait, here?” Jeno breathes out, lifting his head from where he was sucking a bruise above his collarbone.

Donghyuck looks behind Jeno at the modest bench and shrugs. “It’s as good a place as any.”

“I doubt that,” Jeno replies, but guides him towards the other side of the photobooth anyway. Donghyuck places a hand on his chest, pushing him down and discarding his shirt next to him. Jeno raises an eyebrow at the change of dominance and Donghyuck unbuckles his belt, sliding his jeans to his ankles. 

“There’s no lube,” he explains, dropping to his knees and hovering his head over Jeno’s crotch. He pauses to look up at him. “Are you drunk?” 

“No,” he replies, a little taken aback. 

“Okay, are you sure about this?”

“I didn’t peg you as the type to be so thorough about consent,” Jeno says half-heartedly.

Donghyuck lets out a short, almost offended gasp. “Rule number one: always make sure your one-night standee is in the mental state to give consent.”

“Your what?”

“Are you sure about this?” 

“I just—”

“Oh my god, Jeno, do you want me to suck you off and/or potentially fuck, or not?” 

“Yes.”

“Good,” is all Donghyuck says before spreading his legs and moving forward to mouth at Jeno’s half hard bulge through his boxers. His fingers tug at the waistband, sliding it down and Jeno sucks in a sharp breath as Donghyuck wraps his hand around his cock. He leans in and stops just before his lips touch the tip, lifting his head to stare into Jeno’s eyes. 

“I wonder… how many times have you imagined my lips wrapped around your cock?” he asks, excessively breathy, before taking him in slowly, inch by inch. A soft moan escapes Jeno’s lips and his hand grips at Donghyuck’s shoulder when he reaches the base. Donghyuck slides back up and starts bobbing his head, settling for a slow pace. Jeno’s head falls back against the wall with a huff, his eyes fluttering shut as a string of whispered curses escapes his lips. Donghyuck drags his mouth to the tip, swiping his tongue across it painstakingly slowly and releasing it with a wet pop. He digs for the condom in his back pocket and slides it on, bobbing his head a few more times in an effort to coat it with a thick layer of spit. Jeno whines at the lack of contact when he steps back to discard his jeans, but it doesn’t take long before he hovers on top of him, straddling his thighs. 

Donghyuck lifts his hips ever so slightly to position himself and he is interrupted by Jeno’s hands. “What, no stretching?” he asks with a slight crease between his eyebrows.

Donghyuck props his hands on Jeno’s shoulders to steady himself. “I stretched myself earlier, I was too impatient,” he explains simply and Jeno’s face heats up at the mental image.

“Are you sure you won’t get hurt?” he asks, and Donghyuck would probably blush at the unusual tenderness in his voice if it weren’t for the aching, throbbing boner stealing all the blood in his body. 

He drops his head on Jeno’s shoulder and his teeth graze at his earlobe, a feeling welcomed with a faint exhale. “Just shut up and let me ride you. _Please_ ,” he pleads, hot breath making the hair at the back of Jeno’s neck stand. He gives a curt nod and Donghyuck lowers himself, allowing the haze of his arousal to fully engulf him as he parts his lips to voice his delight.

Over the last couple of years Donghyuck’s had a significant number of partners in bed, and while his regular, somewhat monthly hookups had always been nothing short of pleasant, he did feel like it was all starting to become automated, boring even. But as he digs his fingers into Jeno’s back, relishing in the feeling of being filled to the brim, over and over, and committing each one of his low, guttural moans to memory, Donghyuck feels anything but bored. 

He threads a hand through Jeno’s hair, tugging slightly at his roots, face buried in his neck as heavy pants and needy whimpers fill the small space with every desperate thrust of Jeno’s hips. Donghyuck thinks he hears the countdown, but it’s hard to tell with the blaring music and the yelling and the impossibly hot mess of a boy railing him into oblivion. His muscles ache where they’re straining to hold his weight and he sits himself down, gasping for air and taking over Jeno’s fast paced rhythm. He faintly registers the crowd cheer — “Happy New Year!”, he thinks — and a small part of him wants to be mad that he lost the countdown. The other part, though, is more than happy to take advantage of the noise, a word of warning haphazardly leaving his mouth before he cries out. Donghyuck tilts his head back and shuts his eyes, body shuddering as the come spills between both of their stomachs with Jeno’s name resting on his lips for what he’s certain would become the first of many, many times. 

  
  
  


#  **6.**

Donghyuck shakes his head incredulously. “Look at you. I can’t believe you guys got your shit together,” he comments, absentmindedly toying with the straw of his milkshake. 

Jaemin pokes his tongue from where he’s snuggling Renjun in the seat across from him. Donghyuck watches them exchange fond smiles and hearty giggles and as much as he’s happy that his best friend found his soulmate so early-on, he can’t help the bitter envy sinking in his stomach. 

“Now all that’s left is for _you_ to get your shit together,” Jaemin jokes, pointing a finger. 

Donghyuck lets out a salty chuckle. “I’ll have you know, I already have my shit together, thank you very much.”

“Do you now… what’s been happening with you and Jeno?” Jaemin asks with a feigned nonchalance.

Donghyuck smirks. “You really wanna know? Okay, about a week ago he did this thing with his tongue where he—”

“Ew, no, not _that_!” Jaemin interrupts, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “I meant, is there nothing else going on?” he twitches an eyebrow, “just sex? That’s it?”

“Oh, trust me, it’s not _just_ sex, it’s _The_ sex—”

“I’m serious,” Jaemin rolls his eyes. 

“What is it with you and your fixation with my one-night standees?” Donghyuck asks, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“Not this again…”

“I’m sorry, your what?” Renjun narrows his eyes with an amused smile.

“He’s not even called that way anymore, you’re way past a one-night stand! It’s been months!” Jaemin argues.

“I don’t care.”

“Fine, but I think you’re gonna get your heart broken,” Jaemin crosses his arms against his chest, leaning back in his chair.

Donghyuck sends him an outraged scowl. “Can you stop with that? I’m sure it’s because of you that Mark got all… gross and attached,” he reasons, gesturing vaguely at the air, “You manifested it!” 

“I— what?” 

“You heard me! You jinxed it! It was all going so well and you just had to start with your stupid ‘feelings’ talk…” he says, in an overdramatic tone.

“I— you— you’re helpless,” Jaemin concludes with a sigh.

“I’m _fiiiine_ ,” Donghyuck insists, sipping the last of his milkshake.

“You know you don’t have to be like this, yeah? I know that under all that ‘I’m Lee Donghyuck and I don’t give a fuck’ bullshit you actually care about your soulmate and you don’t wanna get attached to people in case you meet them. I get that—”

“No offense, Jaemin, but you don’t know as much as you think you do,” Donghyuck glares. 

Jaemin sulks in his chair. “Okay. I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he says, in a much softer voice. 

“I know, but I’ll be fine, trust me. Besides, Jeno is the _perfect_ one-night standee!” Donghyuck flashes a toothy grin, pausing for effect.

“How so?” Renjun asks, already invested.

“Well, for one, he hates me, or whatever! So the chances of him pulling a Mark are considerably lower!” he clarifies, and Jaemin pinches the bridge of his nose. “Also, TMI, but he’s an absolute shagmaster—”

“Oh my god. I hate you,” Jaemin whines and Renjun pats his back, though not containing his laughter. 

“I love you too,” Donghyuck replies, sending him a flying kiss. “Now, I’d love to stay and entertain you more,” he checks his watch, “but I gotta bail.” 

“Where are you going?” Renjun asks.

Jaemin leans in next to his ear. “He has a dick appointment,” he whispers, earning a giggle.

“I do indeed,” Donghyuck confirms with a proud smile, leaving some change for his order, “and don’t act like you two are saints,” he gestures between them, “I know what you got up to before coming here,” he leans in, narrowing his eyes. “You reek of it. See ya!” And with that, he exits the diner, leaving behind a flustered Jaemin and an amused Renjun. 

\---

Donghyuck walks up to Jeno’s front door and digs his phone out of his pocket to check their messages. Jeno hasn’t replied. He knocks on the door and waits. 

Silence. He debates it for a second before finally typing the code and letting himself in.

“Jeno? You home?” he yells out and his eyes fall on Jeno’s converse, placed neatly next to Donghyuck’s, by now, designated slippers. 

The house is eerily quiet, something uncommon, as Donghyuck would usually find Jeno on his living room couch with a console controller in his hands whenever he came over for their booty calls. 

He scans the modest, open plan room and tip-toes his way to the ajar bedroom door, giving it a light push. At first glance, the place looks just as untouched as the rest of the house, but then Donghyuck spots a lump in the duvet and a familiar mop of black hair peeking from underneath. 

“Jeno?” he asks, stepping closer to the bed and hovering above the seemingly sleeping boy. “You alright, dude?” 

Donghyuck hears a faint whine and he leans in closer, gently shaking what he thinks is his shoulder. 

“Hey, Jeno,” he calls and a gasp escapes his lips as his hand touches his forehead. “Dude! You have a fever!” he yells and Jeno turns to face him, startled out of his sleep. 

His slightly puffy eyes narrow in a frown. “Donghyuck? The fuck do you want?” he says, but it comes out weak and strained. 

“I told you yesterday that I’m coming over,” Donghyuck explains.

“Oh. I forgot.”

“Whatever, why are you burning up?!” he asks, voice dripping in annoyance as he places his palms flat on Jeno’s forehead and neck. “Holy shit.”

“It’s allergy season. I think I also caught a cold,” Jeno states, barely audible. 

“And why are you agonising in bed?! How long have you been feeling like this?”

“Just this morning.”

“This morning?! Jeno, it’s 6PM!” Donghyuck argues, swiping the sweat off Jeno’s brows with his hand. “Why didn’t you call your mum or Jaemin?”

Jeno blinks. “I didn’t want them to worry.”

“Oh my god, you’re such an idiot. Did you take any drugs? Oh my god, did you even eat?!” he scolds, exhaling deeply when Jeno shakes his head. “Dumbass,” he sighs in frustration, tucking the duvet under his chin and leaving the room.

After some rummaging, he finds a piece of cloth in the kitchen and fills it with ice cubes. 

“Ah, feels nice,” Jeno sighs contently when the compress makes contact with his head. 

Donghyuck brings a glass of water to his lips, which he quickly drains. “Try to sleep a little more,” he encourages, hearing a soft hum in response as Jeno’s eyes fall shut. 

\---

The bedroom door creaks open and a wobbly Jeno stumbles out, wiping at his eyes.

“Hey, why are you out of bed??” Donghyuck scolds from where he’s stirring in a pot over the stove.

Jeno pauses in the doorframe, staring at him in confusion. “I— I need to pee.” 

“Oh, fair,” he nods.

“What are you making?” Jeno asks upon emerging from the bathroom. 

“Kimchi stew,” he replies, turning off the gas and placing two bowls on the counter. “You’ve only been asleep for like half an hour. How do you feel?” 

“Like shit.”

Donghyuck gives him a once-over. His hair is sticking out in every direction and there’s a sleep line over his puffed eyes, which ends just above his terribly chapped lips. “Well, you certainly look the part.” 

“Thanks,” Jeno deadpans.

“You’ll feel better after eating,” Donghyuck takes a seat and fills his bowl, nudging some rice in his direction. 

“What’s in that?” Jeno asks, pointing to a pharmacy bag next to the stove.

“Just drugs. I asked Jaemin to pick up something for the fever.”

Jeno nods and scrunches his face after tasting the stew. “This is too salty.” 

Donghyuck takes a sip and mirrors his expression. “Yeaah, I’m not a great cook.”

“Why didn’t you make Jaemin cook it?” 

He looks at his bowl pitifully. “...I may have insisted that I can do it myself.”

“Good thinking.”

“Shut up.” 

They sit in a somewhat awkward silence, eating away at the mediocre stew and Donghyuck is suddenly hit with the realisation that there haven’t been many occasions where he and Jeno spent time together without sliding their tongues down each other’s throats… among other things. He wouldn’t have a problem with this normally, but as he sits in the quiet kitchen, the only sounds being those of their eating, he risks a glance at Jeno and finds that he feels… odd. Slightly panicked, too. Jeno’s nose wrinkles slightly when he swallows the stew and Donghyuck notices the long lashes framing his tired eyes for the first time. Jeno catches him staring, but he doesn’t avert his gaze, instead focusing on the way Jeno’s eyebrows _don’t_ come together, his lips _don’t_ curl in distaste and his eyes _don’t_ crinkle into a glare. If anything, Jeno’s features soften into a guilt-ridden, almost shy expression, and he has a bit of tofu on his top lip and the domesticity of it all strikes Donghyuck like lightning. 

Jeno clears his throat. “Um, thanks for, uh, you know. Taking care of me.”

Donghyuck smiles. “Sure.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe try not being a dumbass next time you fall ill?” Donghyuck suggests, “It could do you wonders.” 

Jeno chuckles lightly. “Yeah.” 

Donghyuck stares at him for a few more seconds and as the panic in his chest subsides, leaving space for a warm feeling to bloom, he thinks that a little domesticity never hurt anyone. 

  
  


#  **7.**

On his 21st birthday, Donghyuck’s parents gift him a car. It’s a brand new Mercedes Sedan, A-Class, metallic red, tinted windows, all leather seats, in short, Donghyuck’s dream car, and the joy of finding it in the driveway upon waking up is almost enough to compensate for the disappointment of receiving yet another ghost gift. Almost. But then again, he doesn’t have much time to weep about his practically non-existent relationship with his parents because he’s in the driver’s seat in a matter of seconds and after all, he wouldn’t wanna stain the leather. 

Donghyuck has always had a soft spot for birthdays, especially his own, and ever since he was young, he made sure to immortalise each one of them, usually by organising the most ambitious parties known in the history of Pyeongtaek (he thinks), and he initially figured this year should be no different. Except considering what was once an yearly tradition swiftly developed into a monthly (sometimes even bi-weekly, if he’s feeling brave enough) occurrence, all these parties, however crazy and unforgettable, have lost most of their meaning. 

And so as he hangs his Shinee-themed car freshener from the rear-view mirror, Donghyuck thinks of what would be the polar opposite of his usual celebration. An idea soon strikes him and he digs his phone out of his pocket.

**the huang renjun fanclub**

**hyuckie [12:01PM]**

**hey bitches**

**no party tonight**

**nana [12:01 PM]**

**huh**

**jenojaem [12:02 PM]**

**?**

**junjun [12:02 PM]**

**hyuck blink twice if you need help**

**hyuckie [12:03 PM]**

**nahh**

**i just wanna do something different this year**

**nana [12:03 PM]**

**what did u have in mind**

**hyuckie [12:03 PM]**

**meet me at my house at 8**

**bring mosquito repellent**

**junjun [12:04 PM]**

**O.o**

\---

“Wow, this is so cool!” Renjun yelps upon exiting the car. “I can’t believe I’ve never been on this hill before.”

Donghyuck follows his gaze and a fond smile finds his lips. The hill was tall enough to overview the entire city, a few miles of unattractive buildings and mediocre parks stretching before them in a somewhat tasteless attempt at an urban scenery. To the untrained eye, it looked underwhelming; to Donghyuck, this was home. 

Jaemin sets some blankets on the ground and they sit down as Donghyuck opens his backpack to hand them some sandwiches. A comfortable silence falls over them as they watch the sun set into the Yellow Sea, munching away at the treats Donghyuck prepared for them. The golden summer glow engulfs the city, brushing over every building and making it look more like a magical place than just a boring old town, something a little closer to Donghyuck’s own representation in his heart. 

Donghyuck inhales deeply and breaks the silence. “The last time I came here was with my parents,” he whispers, looking at where his hands are resting on his lap, “I was eleven years old and it was the last time we spent some quality time together, I think.” Jaemin scoots closer and places a comforting hand on his knee. 

Donghyuck’s parents co-owned a tech company and they’ve always been busy people, working 14-hour shifts and more often than not sleeping at the office because it was “more convenient”, thus leaving child Donghyuck to wallow in self-pity and boredom around their big house, usually with his older brother Taeyong playing video games in his “off-limits” bedroom. He was used to it, but ever since the company’s expansion and Japanese branching, along with Taeyong moving away to Seoul for college, despite his best attempts at suppressing it, he’s been feeling more and more miserable. 

This is where Jaemin and Johnny come in: the only people who managed to crack Donghyuck’s outer shell and who gave him enough confidence to allow himself to get attached, despite his greatest fear of abandonment. He risks a glance at Renjun and Jeno, taking in their attentive eyes and thinks that maybe the list will soon grow longer. 

He wipes away at the tears forming in his eyes and flashes a grin. “But hey, today isn’t about sad shit! So let me tell you a little about the story of Lee Donghyuck!” he points to a U-shaped building just off the main boulevard. “That’s my highschool. It’s where I had my first kiss,” his grin drops, “also when I got my first slap in the face, a totally unrelated event, of course,” he recalls.

Besides him, Jeno snickers. 

He moves his hand a little to the right, this time pointing to a tall, corporate building. “You can’t really see it from here, but there’s a tent bar in front of that building. That’s where I got drunk for the first time,” he lets out a light giggle, “Johnny took me there after I flunked my first exam in 10th grade and felt like the world was gonna end.” He motions over a cluster of apartment blocks. “Somewhere around there is where I lost my virginity to some greasy idiot from another class who ‘just wanted to see if he’s gay’,” he says with a pair of air quotes. “He used too much tongue and kept bragging about how he fucked every girl in our year. I later found out that was when he lost his virginity too.” 

Renjun chokes on his water and Jaemin pats his back. 

“And behind that hotel is where Jaemin and I tried to smoke a pack of cigarettes I’d stolen from my father, back in 7th grade, I think.”

“Hey, I remember that!” Jaemin yelps excitedly. “Oh my god, we were so bad at it, we wasted a whole matchbox trying to light them properly.” 

Donghyuck nods. “We only tried it because you had a crush on Jaehyun, remember?” 

Jaemin covers his face in embarrassment. “God, don’t even go there.” Jeno quirks an eyebrow at him. “Jaehyun was a super hot upperclassman. He was a smoker and my 14 year-old ass thought that if I hung out with him during his smoking breaks enough times, he would eventually fall in love with my irresistible charms,” he clarifies and Renjun snorts. 

“Which wasn’t such a bad plan, in theory,” Donghyuck comments.

“Yeah, in theory. Because in practice we both gave up after coughing our lungs out for a week and I never _once_ got to hang out with him,” Jaemin laughs.

“You still slept with him like five years later, though.”

“Woah, I didn’t know Jaemin had game!” Jeno’s eyebrows fly up.

“ _Please_ , I had way more game than you,” he states casually, “and yes, I did sleep with him and found out he doesn’t own bedsheets… and that he sometimes uses his roommate’s toothbrush, which…” he scrunches up his face in disgust and the others let out a string of disapproving noises, along with some thumbs down, “yeah, and he wasn’t even that good of a kisser, to be honest, so it’s safe to say my five year-old crush left me as soon as I closed the door to his apartment.” 

“Cheers to that!” Renjun lifts his apple cider bottle and the others follow.

Donghyuck points to a seemingly abandoned construction site near the beach. “There used to be an annual summer fair there, before they sold the area to some company who wanted to expand. I think they went bankrupt a while after the purchase, so now it’s just a ghost site,” he takes a sip of his cider. “That’s where I had my first summer job, at a fast-food truck owned by some corporation,” he looks over at Jaemin, “and I used to sneak out burgers that Jaemin and I would stuff our faces with after work hours.” 

Jaemin laughs fondly at the memory before sighing deeply. “Your boss was such a dick.”

“He was,” he recalls with a pained smile. “He called me a faggot and spit me in the face after he saw me holding hands with a boy. It was the first time an adult bullied me for being gay.”

Jeno frowns. “Dickhead. Did you punch him?”

“Nah. Fifteen-year-old Hyuck didn’t have half the confidence I do. I did steal a 20 from his jacket before I left, though,” he winks. “Used it to take out that boy to the movies,” he laughs. 

Jeno’s eyes turn into crescents and Donghyuck decides right then and there that his smile is adorable. Though he would never admit it out loud, of course. 

“I’ll drink to that. Fuck homophobes!” Jeno announces and they all voice their approval before taking a sip of their drinks. 

“It’s a dusty old town, but I’m so happy it’s mine,” Donghyuck states simply when the laughter dies down. He turns to face the others, struggling to see them clearly in the darkness of the night. “I’m also happy I have you guys,” he grins. “Even Jeno. Sometimes. I think,” he pauses. “Maybe not.”

Jeno rolls his eyes. “The feeling’s mutual,” he mumbles.

“We love you too, Hyuck,” Jaemin says with fond eyes, “even when you’re annoying and over dramatic… and way too loud… and when you have no boundaries…” Donghyuck tilts his head like a puppy and Jeno breaks into a crinkled smile next to him, “...and when you do that thing where you ask for advice and stop listening when I don’t tell you what you wanna hear, although frankly I think—”

“Okay, Jaem, I think I got it, can we go back to the ‘we love you, Hyuck’ part?” he laughs.

“We love you,” Jaemin complies, “I love you,” he pauses for emphasis and Donghyuck once again feels thankful for walking down this path alongside him. “Happy birthday, Hyuck!” he lifts his bottle and a string of ‘happy birthday’s’ follow as their bottles touch with a clink. 

**\---**

“Be safe, you two,” Donghyuck warns with a wiggle of his eyebrows as Jaemin and Renjun leave the car. 

“We will. Thanks for the ride and happy birthday again,” Jaemin chuckles, closing the car door.

“Bye guys!” Renjun waves and soon enough Donghyuck’s left alone with Jeno shifting uncomfortably in the passenger’s seat. 

They were still in a tricky relationship, where unless they were jumping each other’s bones, they couldn’t really spend more than ten minutes alone without it becoming painfully awkward. And Donghyuck didn’t mind it most of the time; after all, he wasn’t exactly searching for a friend in Jeno and besides, Jeno seemed equally, if not more reluctant to bond with him, so it was all good in Donghyuck’s book. Even more so, Jeno kept insisting he absolutely _despised_ him, which left no space for an attempt at a real convers— 

“It’s a nice car,” Jeno clears his throat awkwardly, his gaze fixed on the road. 

Donghyuck twitches an eyebrow. “Sure is. You into cars?”

“Not so much. I know a few things.” 

Donghyuck nods, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in an attempt to shrug the awkwardness. “So what are you into? Like, what’s your hobby?”

“Uh,” Jeno scratched his head absentmindedly, “basketball, I guess?” 

“Ah, you’re on the uni team.”

“Yep.”

“Cool. How is it?”

“It’s nice.”

“Cool,” Donghyuck repeats. 

They fall silent again and after a few minutes Donghyuck reaches his right hand to fumble with the radio channels before settling on an indie song he loved.

The road ahead is fairly clear, the darkness of the night reduced by the streetlights and the full moon above them. When they pass by Johnny’s apartment block, Donghyuck is reminded to ask him to hang out sometime in the next few days. 

“You sing,” Jeno says matter-of-factly just as Donghyuck pulls into the parking lot and he stills for a second, not having realised he was singing along to the song on the radio. 

“Oh, yeah,” he replies, stopping the car, “sometimes. It’s nothing,” he shrugs and turns in his seat to face him properly.

Jeno stares at him with an unreadable expression on his face, imitating still life. “You should do it more,” he says blankly. 

A soft smile finds Donghyuck’s lips and if he squints he thinks there’s a trace on Jeno’s lips too. His eyes travel upwards to his nose, his cheekbones, the small mole under his right eye and finally, the black mess on his head. It’s slightly parted in the middle and a strand of hair threatens to poke his left eye, leaving Donghyuck with an unprecedented urge to reach out and brush it away. He does a mental body shake and zooms out to ground himself. He notices Jeno is wearing a slightly oversized version of their university hoodie, fingers barely visible from underneath the sleeves. Donghyuck frowns. He looks _cute_.

“Right. Well. This is me,” Jeno unfastens the seatbelt and pushes the chair a little further back to allow for more room. “Happy birthday. Bye,” he says, gripping the car handle.

“Wait, Jeno,” Donghyuck calls out before he could stop himself. 

Jeno looks at him expectantly and Donghyuck curses himself for letting his mouth speak without a plan. 

“Uh…” He doesn’t know what he has to say, so he does the next best thing: he surges forward and brings their lips together. 

Jeno yelps in surprise before giving in to the kiss, placing his hands on Donghyuck’s waist and parting his lips when his tongue swipes at his bottom lip. 

A faint moan escapes Donghyuck’s mouth as he deepens the kiss and he blindly unfastens his seatbelt and steps over the console to land in Jeno’s lap, straddling him. 

“I want you,” he breathes out against his mouth, gently pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“Donghyuck…” Jeno pulls back, cupping his cheek so that his thumb rests at the corner of his mouth. “We agreed we wouldn’t do this anymore,” he says in a firm tone, his full-blown pupils and shallow pants betraying the heat likely pooling in the pit of his stomach. 

“I wouldn’t have kissed you unless I knew for sure you were gonna go for it,” Donghyuck winks.

“Oh. I forget about that sometimes,” he says, holding him back when he tries to reconnect their lips. “But wait. Here?” he asks bewilderedly.

Donghyuck nods.

“In your brand new car? What is it with you and having sex in weird places? What’s wrong with the comfort of a b—” he trails off with a weak gasp as Donghyuck darts out his tongue to lick at his right thumb. His lips curl into a smirk, lustful eyes staring into Jeno’s as he leans in and closes his mouth around his finger. He swirls his tongue over his knuckle before pausing and sucking lightly around the nail bed, making a point to vaguely move his head to match the motion. Jeno’s lips are parted and Donghyuck can practically _see_ his wavering breath, holding on to the last trace of self-restraint for dear life before Donghyuck lets out a low groan, effectively pushing him over the edge. Jeno drags his thumb out and crashes their lips together in a sloppy, borderline obscene kiss. His hands crawl under the hem of his oversized shirt and Donghyuck gasps in his mouth as his fingers graze over his nipples, roam around his sides and back, digging into the knots of his spine before he crosses his arms around his waist, closing all the distance between their chests. Donghyuck buries his hands in his hair, pulling his head back ever so slightly and diving down to his exposed neck. He starts a series of messy, hot breathed kisses at his earlobe, trailing downwards with an agonising pace before pausing to suck a bruise just above the collar of his hoodie. 

“Ah, fuck…” Jeno breathes out and his eyes flutter shut when Donghyuck rolls his hips against him, pressing down hard. His hands travel down his back to settle on the curve of Donghyuck’s ass, giving it a firm squeeze. “Mmm, wanna fuck you,” he whispers, spreading his cheeks just as he starts grinding on him. 

“You do?” Donghyuck replies, his own eyes closed as he tilts his head back, relishing in the friction against Jeno’s hard bulge. 

“Wanna fuck you so bad,” Jeno reiterates, leaning forward to press his forehead against his shoulder. 

Donghyuck slows his movement to a stop, bringing his lips to Jeno’s ear. “Fuck me then,” he purrs, sliding back on his thighs and reaching to tug at the waistband of his shorts. 

“Ouch,” he whines as he hits his head against the ceiling. “Maybe if you could just…” he motions for Jeno to take his pants off.

“Oh, yeah,” Jeno complies, “ow!” he groans when his elbow hits the door. 

“I think if you move a little there…”

“I’m trying but there’s not enough space,” Jeno grunts.

“Well what if I go here… hey, careful with your nails, you’ll scratch the leather!” Donghyuck warns.

“I’m sorry! Ah, your tailbone is digging into my thigh!”

“I should take off my shoes…”

“I don’t think this is workin—” 

“My legs are numb,” Donghyuck complains, stopping to stare at him.

They pause for a second before they start laughing. Donghyuck places a hand on Jeno’s shoulder to ground himself.

“Look at us, we’re just a couple of horny idiots,” he says.

“Yeah…” Jeno giggles. “Except I’m not an idiot.”

Donghyuck gives his shoulder a light punch and they stare at each other for a few silent seconds. 

“Should we take it to the backseat?” Donghyuck suggests.

“How about we just go upstairs? I doubt my post-nut legs will be able to carry me up five flights of stairs anyway,” Jeno jokes, eliciting a giggle. 

Donghyuck looks at his disheveled state, lips swollen and skin rapidly darkening where he sucked marks on the side of his neck. He lifts a finger, poking at one of the bruises and Jeno winces in return. His head is tilted backwards, pressed against the headrest and he’s looking up at Donghyuck through hooded eyes, a playful half-smile on dancing on his lips. Donghyuck briefly thinks Jeno’s never looked more attractive in his life and despite a faint alarm going off in the back of his mind, he takes the leap. 

“Sure, let’s go upstairs.”

#  **8.**

“It just _had_ to be camping, didn’t it, Jaem?” Donghyuck complains with a scowl from where he’s battling an outdoors tent. 

Jaemin flashes a toothy grin, arms resting on either of his sides. “See, Hyuck? That’s exactly the attitude I brought you here to revise.” 

“ _That’s exactly the attitude_ …” Donghyuck sneers. “Fuck you. You’re not even doing anything!” He looks over at the centre of the camp where Renjun is digillently setting up the wood that Jeno brought from the forest for a campfire. Jaemin is standing besides him, watching over their work. 

“That is absolutely not true. Every team needs a supervisor. Where would you be if I wasn’t here to make sure you don’t mess up?” Jaemin asks dramatically.

“We wouldn’t. That’s the point. I’d be at home, curled up in bed and watching Drag Race,” Donghyuck seethes. “You’re doing it the wrong way! You need to attach the pole to the other thingy!” he yells at Jeno, pointing vaguely to one side of the tent. 

“ _You’re doing it the wrong way_ ,” Jeno mocks. “Why don’t you do it, then, smartass?” he challenges and Donghyuck shows him the finger.

“Now, now, don’t fight!” Jaemin scolds, approaching them. He takes a deep breath and smiles at the sky. “Can’t you see how lovely nature is? All the plants, all the animals, working together in perfect harmony—” He stops in his tracks and looks down at his feet.

Donghyuck turns around and follows his gaze. “Did you just step in shit?” 

Renjun snorts. 

“Of course not,” Jaemin says, wiping his foot on a patch of grass with subtlety. 

“I can— I can literally see you stepped in it. Is that bear shit? Are there bears here??” Donghyuck questions, tilting his head. Across from him, Jeno starts laughing.

“It doesn’t matter, the _point_ is!” Jaemin continues, assuming his yoga trainer voice once again. “We are all here now, far, far away from the city…”

“It’s only a ten-minute drive,” Donghyuck comments.

“...in the middle of nowhere, no civilisation, we have to fend for ourselves, we have to hunt to survive…”

“There’s literally a food truck within a fifteen-minute walk, but okay.”

“Listen up, smarty-pants, this is _my_ birthday weekend and you will do as _I_ say! Now shut up and build that damn tent already!” Jaemin warns with a customer service smile. 

“You do realise I can just take the car and leave you bitches here stranded—”

“I said build the tent!” Jaemin lifts a finger above his head as he’s walking away. 

“Aye-aye, captain,” Donghyuck complies without much conviction, turning back to his job.

“There you go,” Jeno says, standing proudly next to the perfectly set up tent. “I knew you were the problem.” 

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and crawls inside to store his backpack. 

“Umm, Jaem?” he calls upon exiting, “isn’t this tent a little small for four people?” 

Jaemin bursts into a fake laugh. “You’re kidding.” 

Jeno lifts an eyebrow in confusion and Jaemin’s smile drops.

“Guys, _please_. You didn’t seriously expect we’d all be sleeping in the same tent. On my birthday. When I’m dating Renjun.”

Donghyuck and Jeno stare at him with matching bewilderment. 

Jaemin chuckles. “Do I really need to spell it out for you?”

“Okay, but we do have three tents, right?” Jeno asks cautiously. 

“Three tents? Who do you think I am? Some kind of tent freak?” Jaemin jokes and Donghyuck grimaces. “There’s one more tent. Now come on, you need to set it up a lot further to, um, minimise awkwardness…”

“So what, am I just supposed to sleep next to…” Jeno looks at Donghyuck with disgust, “next to this guy?” 

Donghyuck mouths a _fuck you_. 

“And what’s the problem? Last time I checked you didn’t have a problem sleeping _with_ this guy, did you?” Jaemin reasons.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, this is different,” Donghyuck argues with a frown.

“How is it different? Listen, I really don’t care about your weird, sex-ridden frenemy relationship, or whatever. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the big boss.” 

“You _are_ the big boss,” Donghyuck deadpans.

“Oh, right,” Jaemin giggles. “In that case, sleep outside!”

“But—” Jeno tries. 

“Nope, don’t wanna hear it. Now can we please get this tent set up? It’s almost noon for crying out loud.” 

\---

“Hey, don’t look!” Donghyuck yelps when Jeno enters their shared tent. 

Jeno closes the zipper and frowns. “I literally fingered you the other day and you’re sissy about me seeing you shirtless?” 

“It’s different when I’m not horny!” he hisses, discarding his day shirt in favour of a hoodie. 

“Sure,” Jeno chuckles, sitting up on his side of the tent and taking off his shirt, folding it neatly. 

Donghyuck risks a glance at his naked torso, more specifically at his naked, _rock hard abs_ , and he whips his head back, his cheeks heating up at a worrying pace. _What the fuck is wrong with me?_ _I don’t blush._

He shakes his head. It’s not like it was the first time he was witnessing a shirtless Jeno, or any shirtless boy, for that matter. _It’s just skin and muscle tissue_ , Donghyuck thinks, trying his best to picture one of those gross, scary-looking renditions of the human muscular system from his high school’s biology textbook in an attempt to drive away the blood in his cheeks. 

“Are you okay? Do you have a fever or something?” Jeno asks, face scrunched up in worry as he scoots closer to place a hand on Donghyuck’s forehead. Donghyuck’s gaze once again zeroes in on his chest and he lifts a dismissive hand.

“I’m fine. Thanks. Stay there,” he urges.

“O— kaay…” Jeno submits, crawling back and putting on a hoodie before lying down on his back. The undeniably cheap tent had a transparent polyester film on one side of the roof, which allowed for a beautiful, albeit distorted view of the night sky. 

“What, it’s already sleep time?” Donghyuck asks with annoyance. He glances at his watch. “It’s only 1 AM, where are Renjun and Jaemin? I thought we’d play more games.” 

“They said they’re going to ‘make love’,” Jeno says blankly, with a pair of air quotes.

Donghyuck blinks. “Wow. No euphemism, no nothing?”

“Eh, at this point.”

“Right,” Donghyuck deadpans. “So what, we’re just going to sleep?” he repeats, despite the way Jeno’s bored, wide-eyed gaze is fixed to the ceiling. 

“Do you have a better idea?” 

Donghyuck thinks for a second before leaning over his sleeping bag. He reaches into his backpack, groping its contents for a while before revealing a medium-sized bottle of something. 

“Wanna get drunk?” he asks, shaking the newfound treasure. 

“What is that?” Jeno says, sitting up straight. 

“Thirty-year-old Glen McKenna. The finest scotch I found in my house.” 

Jeno raises his eyebrows. “So, do you just carry that around with you, or…?”

“I was gonna drink it with you guys, but since Renjun and Jaemin bailed, I guess it’s just you and me. You in?” he asks, giving the bottle another shake. 

Jeno purses his lips before reaching into his own backpack. “I think I have a corkscrew around here…”

\---

“And then he really threw the iced coffee in my face, that bastard!” Donghyuck complains, though it comes out amused, what with the way he’s clutching his stomach with giggles. He angles his head to the left in his search for the moon and he bumps into Jeno’s ear. 

“So you saw the future and you couldn’t do anything about it??” Jeno questions, somewhat outraged. 

Donghyuck lifts a finger and pokes his nose. He gets to his elbows to take a swig of scotch and he mentally acknowledges Jeno’s beautiful side profile. “Nah, I can’t really _change_ the future. I can only see it,” he confirms, handing him the half-empty bottle and plopping down on his back.

Jeno frowns and takes a sip, leaning back on his elbows. “That’s bullshit. Your powers are bullshit.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. You don’t know the half of it,” he sighs, tracing a constellation in the air with his finger. 

Jeno whips his head to look at him as if struck by a revelation and he falls on his back, elbow bumping into Donghyuck’s side. “But still, you see the future, that’s pretty cool, right?”

Donghyuck turns his head to face him and is slightly startled when their noses almost touch. “Yeah. It’s cool sometimes,” he confirms.

“Can you see the future right now?” Jeno asks, voice becoming a whisper.

“I think I’m too tipsy. But I can try,” he replies, eyes narrowing to a squint as he tries to focus on Jeno’s face. Everything looks blurry and he’s starting to feel dizzy as his body goes numb in an attempt to _see_ the vision in front of him. He extends his arms to catch it, but it’s just out of reach, so he forces himself to run faster, to lean further. He’s just about ready to give up and blame the scotch when he _sees_ it and his lips part in a silent gasp. He comes down from the vision and he’s met with Jeno’s warm eyes staring at his lips. 

“Is it done?” he says and Donghyuck gives him a half nod. “What did you see? What’s gonna happen?” Jeno asks excitedly, breath ghosting over Donghyuck’s lips. He tries to process what happened and he feels his eyebrows come together. There was something else there, something he couldn’t quite _see_. A fight?

“You’re gonna kiss me,” he confesses sheepishly. 

Jeno’s eyes widen, fluttering from his eyes to his mouth and back up, as if asking for permission. 

_Do you really need permission if you know it’s gonna happen?_ Donghyuck thinks briefly, before Jeno’s hand cups his neck and connects their lips. 

The kiss is long, slow in a way that reveals an underlying _something_ and Donghyuck would usually be clever enough to register what it is, but _usually_ he’s not lost in the way Jeno’s thumb moves every so slightly, caressing his cheekbone, _usually_ he’s not dizzy with the way Jeno’s lips slide against his own in a perfectly rehearsed dance and _usually_ he’s not painfully aware of the heat emanating from Jeno’s body, skin burning where they’re pressed against each other, even through their clothes. Jeno hums contently as he deepens the kiss, tongue sliding against Donghyuck’s with languid movements. His fingers brush against his waist before gripping it tenderly while Donghyuck’s own find their way to Jeno’s back, pulling him impossibly close. 

They stay like that for a few more minutes before Jeno pulls away from the kiss. Suddenly Donghyuck feels sober. There’s a rosy tint on Jeno’s face and Donghyuck catches himself briefly hoping it’s not from the alcohol. He shakes his head.

“What about the soulmate part?” Jeno questions with some sort of glint in his eyes. Could it be… hope?

Donghyuck feels his heart constrict. “Oh. That’s a sad story, I don’t think I wanna talk about it.” He sits up straight and drains a nearby water bottle, trying to ignore the way his heart is pounding in his chest in the aftermath of their kiss.

“Okay. I have a sad story, too. Do you wanna hear it?” Jeno asks, rolling on his back to stare at the sky. 

“Sure.”

“Okay. Here goes,” he takes a deep breath. “I haven’t really dated before. I did go out with a couple of girls for like… a month or two, but nothing very serious.”

Donghyuck nods, a little taken aback from the honesty. 

“And that’s because I’ve been pining for this guy for like… five years, I think,” he continues and Donghyuck’s eyebrows fly up. “We went to high school together. I’ve been in unrequited love with him… for five years,” Jeno breathes out, like it was the first time he was saying it out loud.

Donghyuck’s mouth forms an ‘O’. “Wow, five years… did he reject you?”

“Nope.” 

Donghyuck frowns. “What do you mean ‘nope’? What happened?” he lets out a theatrical gasp. “Don’t tell me you never confessed!” 

“Yup.” 

Donghyuck stills for a second before he stifles a laugh.

Jeno twitches an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing. I just can’t imagine being in love with someone and not telling them. Why would you put yourself through that?” 

Jeno blinks. “I— well. A lot of reasons!”

“Like what? Fear of rejection?”

“Yes!”

“ _Please_ . Being rejected and moving on is a thousand times better than pining for _years_.”

Jeno frowns, sitting up straight. “Not everyone has the confidence to confess!”

“What’s so hard? There’s so many ways to go about this. You can literally write a note or shoot them a text nowadays. Y’know, just to get the load off your chest.”

Jeno scoffs offendedly. “It’s not that easy.”

“Sure. It’s not easy if you don’t want it to be.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Is this why you’re always so damn sad? Because your little high school crush didn’t pan out?” 

“Oh my god,” Jeno shakes his head. “See, this is why I never tell you anything!” 

Donghyuck scowls, crossing his arms against his chest. “Oh, so now it’s my fault, is it?” 

“Yeah! More than you think, actually! You’re so self-absorbed, you couldn’t put yourself in someone else’s shoes to save your life!” 

“I am _not_ self-absorbed. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with putting yourself first!” 

“There is when you hurt other people in the process! God, I’m so fucking sick of your main character syndrome.”

“Oh yeah? Well I’m sick of your sad boy complex! Just because you couldn’t fucking grow a pair and confess all those years ago, it doesn’t mean you can take it all out on me now! And fuck you, I _am_ the main character!”

Jeno stares at him for a second, eyebrows knitted in a pained expression.

_Well, shit._

He lets out a fake chuckle and the overwhelming hurt in his eyes sends a pang of guilt to Donghyuck’s heart. “I can’t believe I was starting to like you,” Jeno says, more to himself, before unzipping the tent and promptly getting to his feet.

“Oh, come on, where are you going?” Donghyuck sticks his head out of the tent. “Jeno! Come back! It’s late!” he yells out, watching Jeno’s back as he disappears into the forest. 

A deep sigh escapes his lips and he zips the tent, curling up inside his sleeping bag. 

“Whatever. If you want to get eaten alive by bears, be my guest,” he spits, folding his arms against his stomach. “I’ll just go to sleep.” 

And go to sleep, he tried to. He closed his eyes and rolled on his left side, then on the right, then on his belly and back again. He shifted in just about every sleeping position, huffing and whining in his wide awake agony, and he only found himself able to drift off after he heard an unzipping sound, followed by a body plopping down next to him with a faint, familiar sigh. 

  
  
  


#  **9.**

“I can’t believe it’s already September,” Donghyuck says in disbelief as he sits down on the bench next to Jaemin. “And I can’t believe we’re already seniors. It feels like we’ve done nothing in the first two years. We should have had more fun,” he pouts, unwrapping his lunch.

Jaemin looks at him in confusion. “Hyuck, you’ve hosted at least a party a _month_.” 

“I _know_! I should have just done it weekly,” he frowns, picking the cucumbers from his sandwich and placing them on the wrapping paper next to him.

Jaemin shakes his head with an amused smile and pops a cucumber slice in his mouth. “You’re insatiable.”

“Speaking of which, have you seen Jeno?” 

“I think he’s working at the store today, why? Trouble in paradise?” Jaemin teases, earning a light slap on his thigh.

“He’s been kinda avoiding me ever since two weeks ago, you know…” 

“You mean two weeks ago when you fought like two idiots instead of banging and he fled to the woods? Yeah, I remember. Didn’t think you’re _that_ shit at being friends.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have left us alone. Our arrangement is simple: if one of us is horny, we meet. We’re good in controlled environments. Those were unforeseen circumstances.”

Jaemin snorts. “You know you’re not some kind of rare plants, right? Humans are supposed to be adaptable.” 

“Sure, only if you’re willing to,” Donghyuck replies through a mouthful.

“Right. So I take it you haven’t seen each other since then?”

“Oh, no, we did it like two days ago.”

Jaemin blinks. “Well then why are you so concerned?”

Donghyuck takes a moment to think, pursing his lips in a tight line. Why _is_ he so concerned?

“I don’t know. It feels different. He’s just… sad,” he answers quietly, the guilt in his stomach not having subsided since that night.

Jaemin arches an eyebrow. “What, does he cry during sex?” 

“What? No! He’s just quieter than usual.”

“Oh. Well, what did you talk about in the tent? Did he mention something that would make him sad?”

Donghyuck thinks back to that night and a light turns on above his head. “Oh, yeah, he did say something about a five-year old crush, you know anything about that?” he asks, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Ah, yes,” he nods knowingly. “He didn’t tell me much, but I remember he used to be suuuper in love with this guy from his high-school. He was a year older and I think he went to our uni.” Jaemin pauses to rub at his chin, staring into the puddle in front of him with a pensive look. “Minhyun? Minhyung? Something like that.” 

Donghyuck’s eyes go wide and he chokes on a hidden piece of cucumber. 

“You alright there, buddy?” Jaemin laughs, patting his back.

“Minhyung? Jaemin, are you fucking dumb?! That’s Mark!” 

Jaemin’s jaw drops. “What?! Mark?”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you,” he drops his head in his hands. “You are the dumbest person alive.”

“I’m sorry, how was I supposed to know this?!” Jaemin raises his arms defensively. “I’ve never heard anyone call him Minhyung and Jeno stopped talking about his crush at one point! I just assumed he was over him!”

“Let me guess, did he, by any chance, stop talking about him around the time I started fucking him?!” Donghyuck yells, scaring a nearby pigeon in the process.

“Oh,” Jaemin scratches the side of his head. “Now that I think of it, you might be right.” 

Donghyuck groans, setting his lunch aside for the time being. “Well, this explains a lot. At least now I know why he hates me so much. I just assumed he was pretending because he has a hatefucking kink or something.” 

Jaemin stares at him. “You thought he has a hatefucking kink and you played along just because?”

“Well, yeah? I’ve been with guys with way weirder kinks. But, you know, whatever gets him going. And trust me, he’s _good_ —” 

“Got it.” 

Donghyuck sighs, gaze lost on the university stairs as he registers the foreign weight on his chest. “I feel like an asshole,” he mutters, more to himself, but Jaemin catches it anyway and quirks an eyebrow. 

“You seem pretty affected,” he comments with suspicion. “That’s new.”

“You’re acting like I’ve never expressed guilt in my life.”

“I mean. Not about your one-night standees, you haven’t,” Jaemin reasons and Donghyuck’s mind immediately rejects it. Of course he has. He felt guilty about breaking Mark’s heart. A little bit. Probably. Maybe not. But he definitely felt guilty about accidentally scratching Yangyang’s leather jacket. That was Gucci.

Jaemin pats his shoulder, regarding him with an amused smile. “I gotta go, I’ve got a class. Good luck with your revelation,” he chuckles, leaving him alone with his thoughts. 

Donghyuck scoffs. Revelation? He may have been a little bit of an asshole yes, but in his defence, it was completely unknowingly. He would have been nicer had he known about Jeno’s feelings. There’s no revelation to be had here. 

He thinks about every time he joked about Mark and Jeno’s glare makes its way to the front of his mind, adding to the weight in his chest. However, there’s some apologising to do.

\---

The ground beneath his feet is beginning to shake, deafening thunders threatening an imminent hazard as the dark sky opens up with heavy rain. Donghyuck is running. He tries to focus on the road ahead — a long, paved street with lamp posts every few feet, which light up just as he gets past them. He tries not to look back. He doesn’t remember what he’s running away from, the fear blooming in his chest like a rose bush — with thorns prodding at his lungs and heart, paralysing his brain and making his blood run cold — being his only reminder of the rapidly approaching danger. He keeps running, his breathing becoming shallower and shallower, until he feels it lodged in his throat, tears staining his cheeks as his legs sink into the pavement the further he runs. His muscles burn under the strain and he’s almost certain his heart is about to give in, a fate he’s starting to become accustomed to, more _submissive_ to — the sweet surrender, the life devoid of pain that his aching body is so desperately crying for — but then he sees it. Ahead of him the lengthy street ends in pitch black — a testament to the future, Donghyuck is sure — and there is no light to guide him yet, but before his chest is sunken into the ground, while he still has his arms free of dirt and while battling the suction, Donghyuck squints. And sure enough, there it is. Hardly visible unless you’re really looking for it, unless you’re really _hoping_ for it. An outline. A silhouette. 

He opens his eyes with a sharp intake of breath. The light peeking in through the curtains barely reaches the leg of his bed, which means it’s still early. He brings a hand to rub his eyes and suddenly becomes aware of the position of his body. His left hand is stuck under the covers and something else, a seemingly foreign leg splayed across his own. He turns his head to the left and is confronted with the image of a sleeping Jeno, hair mussed and breath ghosting over Donghyuck’s shoulder, a strong arm resting on top of his stomach, further preventing him from lifting his arm from where it’s stuck between both of their hips.

Donghyuck looks at the way Jeno’s cheek is pressed against the pillow and thinks about the time he would wake up alone after their little rendezvous. It’s been a good few months since Jeno started actually sleeping over, as opposed to darting out of the room the second they both came. Donghyuck doesn’t remember how it happened, what exactly was it that sparked this change, or whether it was voluntary or not, but he finds that just how the physical distance between them shrinked, so did the emotional one. _It makes sense_ , he thinks. When two hearts beat next to each other for long enough, they eventually synchronise. 

He looks at the way Jeno’s arm moves up and down on his stomach and when his body begins to scream for better blood circulation, Donghyuck removes his hand and rolls over on his left side. He folds Jeno’s arm, holding it to his chest as he thinks about how fundamentally different they are from one another. Jeno’s breathing becomes irregular, a faint line forming between his eyebrows and before he can even register it, Donghyuck reaches out to rub gentle circles on his bare back. He’s used to it. He briefly wonders what kind of dreams Jeno’s been having before his breathing steadies and his face softens again. Donghyuck stops the movement but keeps his palm there. 

He looks between both of their bodies and suddenly becomes excruciatingly aware of the desire to scoot closer, to press their chests together in a different way from the previous night, perhaps with arms clasped against a waist, chin atop of a head and legs tangled. He suppresses it, not entirely sure for whose sake.

Jeno lets out a soft whine and opens his eyes halfway, mumbling something in his drowsiness. His eyebrow hair is ruffled from sleep and Donghyuck reaches to smooth it out, fingers lingering on the side of his face. 

“What time is it?” Jeno eventually speaks up, deep morning voice bringing a smile to Donghyuck’s lips.

“I don’t know. Around 9 I think.”

Jeno frowns and rolls on his back, stretching his arms above his head. _Now that’s a view._

“I didn’t mean to stay over,” he sighs in discontent, scratching the bird nest on the top of his head. 

“It’s fine. You were tired,” Donghyuck states simply.

He doesn’t say anything else, instead moving the duvet and sliding out of bed to shimmy into his clothes. The image tugs at Donghyuck’s heartstrings.

“Do you wanna eat something before you leave?” he asks, sitting up straight.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Are you sure? I can fix some breakfast in like ten minut—”

“I’m fine,” Jeno insists coldly before dragging a shirt over his head. 

Donghyuck nods and leaves the bed to slide into a pair of pyjama pants. “Um, before you leave, I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” 

Jeno pauses and turns to look at him with a cryptic expression. “Yeah, sure. I actually wanted to tell you something, too.” 

Donghyuck sits on the edge of the bed and clears his throat. “About the Mark thing…”

“Don’t,” he stares him down, “I really don’t need to hear it.”

“Jeno. I wanted to apologise. I didn’t know you had feelings for him,” Donghyuck tries, earning a scoff in return. 

“It’s not about me having feelings, Donghyuck. It’s about you taking advantage of him and then breaking his heart.”

“Hey, I did not take advantage of him. He knew from the start that I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

“You belittled him with every chance you had! Acting like you were superior just because he fell for you,” Jeno breathes out in a pained voice.

“They were just jokes! I didn’t know you were in love with the guy!” Donghyuck defends himself, only to be met with another scoff. “You’re blowing it out of proportions because you’re biased! You don’t even know how Mark reacted when I ended it!” he raises his voice, growing annoyed. 

“You know what?” Jeno takes a few steps forward. “Yes, I was in love with him. And from where I was standing, you had the world at your feet. And you pushed it away,” he points an accusatory finger. “But why wouldn’t you? Why wouldn’t you play with people’s feelings when you have the certainty of that _fucking_ soulmate!” 

“Don’t talk to me about shit you don’t know,” Donghyuck warns gravely. 

“Well is that not what it is, Donghyuck?” Jeno raises his eyebrows. “Are you honestly not fucking around with people, having fun, not giving a rat’s ass about anyone but yourself because at the end of the day your life is sorted?” 

It hurts. Donghyuck opens his mouth to retaliate, but closes it. _He’s only saying this because he’s angry._

Jeno shakes his head and now he’s overreacting, Donghyuck knows. Spouting whatever insults he can, laying it all out in front of him without thinking, and Donghyuck knows most of it comes from his past self, the Jeno who hated him. He knows. Or rather, he hopes. But his next words still cut him open, peeling the forming scab on his deepest wound.

“I swear you’re the most selfish person I know!” Jeno concludes and before the words are out of his mouth, there’s a realisation washing over his face. Regret, maybe. But it’s too late.

“Get out,” Donghyuck sighs defeatedly, looking at the trembling palms in his lap.

There’s a beat of silence. Donghyuck remembers the fight he _saw_ a couple of months ago and shudders.

“Donghyuck, I—”

“Get out of my house, Jeno,” he lifts his head to look him in the eyes and he’s met with a rather pitiful Jeno. His heart aches. “We’re done.” 

Jeno hesitates before eventually grabbing his phone and opening the bedroom door. A whispered apology and a few steps later Donghyuck’s first tear drops. 

#  **10.**

It’s boring. The crowd is ecstatic, of course, a good one hundred students drinking and dancing around with huge smiles across their faces; the party looks like an undoubtful success so far. At least for everyone else.

Donghyuck suppresses a yawn as he sways his hips alongside the boy in front of him. He takes a tentative look around the room before sipping on his pink gin cocktail. 

“You searching for someone?” Yukhei asks, loose grip on Donghyuck’s waist.

“No, of course not,” he replies, a tad too quickly.

It’s been a little over a month since his fight with Jeno and aside from a few apology texts that Donghyuck purposely ignored and a glance or two in the uni cafeteria, they haven’t been in touch. It’s for the best. Surely the desire to never see Jeno again and the yearning for a kiss from him, a touch, or simply a glance from across the room can co-exist, right? _Right?_

“Good,” Yukhei brings his lips to Donghyuck’s ear. “Because I’m the only one you’re gonna need tonight, baby,” he whispers in what Donghyuck thinks should be a seductive manner. 

“Sure,” he mumbles back without conviction.

Yukhei tightens his hold, hands dangerously close to his ass as his lips part to start a trail of slow kisses along his jaw. Donghyuck squeezes his eyes shut, desperately trying to enjoy the sensation. _Jeno doesn’t like me._ Yukhei moves below his jaw. _We broke things off._ Somewhere in between, his phone vibrates. _I get to do what I want._ Yukhei’s teeth graze the side of his neck and Donghyuck lets out a frustrated sigh. It must have come across as a satisfied one, because Yukhei lodges a leg between Donghyuck’s own and slides a hand over his ass. His stomach coils, and as if he didn’t already feel repulsed by the non-Jeno hands and lips on him, he opens his eyes and freezes. Leaning against the kitchen counter is a boiling Jeno. His eyes are fixed on Yukhei, dark glare burning into his skull. There’s a crumpled red solo cup in his closed fist. _What is he doing here?_ Jeno moves his eyes to stare into Donghyuck’s wide open ones and he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Jeno’s face softens and as Donghyuck’s heart rate shoots up, he jerks out of the older boy’s arms, handing him his drink. 

“What the—” Yukhei starts, but before he can finish Donghyuck is already half-way across the room. 

He runs up the stairs, bumping into several people on his way, including his best friend. 

“Hey, my drink!” Jaemin yells as Donghyuck strides past him. “Hyuck!” 

Donghyuck unlocks the door to his bedroom and plops on the floor, wiping his teary eyes with a deep exhale. He fishes his phone out of his front pocket and a whispered curse escapes his lips when his eyes settle on his most recent notification. 

**mark lee [12:17 AM]**

**hey donghyuck :) i’m back from canada haha**

**i was wondering if you’d like to get a coffee sometime to catch up!**

**as friends this time, i promise. it’s totally fine if you don’t want to tho!!**

**i hope you’re good~**

“Dude!” Jaemin storms in. “You ruined my sh—” He frowns, taking a step closer. “Hyuck? Are you crying? What’s wrong?” 

“I’m not crying,” Donghyuck responds, but it comes out weak, especially with the way tears started streaming down his face. He sets his phone aside.

Jaemin locks the door and sits down next to him, leaning back against the bed. He drapes his arm across Donghyuck’s shoulder and he recognises it, they’ve done this more times than Donghyuck would be willing to admit. So he buries his head in Jaemin’s shoulder and starts crying. 

It’s ugly, loud, with hiccups and snot and red, puffed up eyes, hair completely messed up and a ridiculously big wet stain on Jaemin’s shirt. He doesn’t know how much time went by when he’s done and he briefly thinks he could go for another round, but then Jaemin passes him the box of tissues next to the lube bottle on his nightstand and Donghyuck laughs at the irony. 

Jaemin pats him on the back. “I’ll go get you some water,” he says, in the middle of getting up.

“No! Not now. I’m okay. Please, don’t leave,” Donghyuck sniffs, wiping his cheeks.

“Okay,” Jaemin agrees and resumes patting him on the back. 

There’s a silence as Donghyuck comes down from crying, inhaling deeply to steady his breath. 

He clears his throat. “Remember that time in July last year?” he asks and Jaemin furrows his brows in confusion. “The day I had that breakdown. Well, more like the week,” he clarifies with a chuckle.

“Oh. Yeah, I remember.” 

One, two, three beats of silence. “I didn’t get a vision, Jaem,” Donghyuck confesses quietly, hugging his knees to his chest.

“What?” 

“When I turned 18,” Donghyuck turns to look at him. “I didn’t get a soulmate vision.” Jaemin’s eyes widen as he lets out a silent gasp. There’s a question on his face and Donghyuck addresses it. “Yeah, it’s possible. I checked everywhere, reached out to everyone I could. Turns out some people just don’t get it,” he lets out a strained laugh. “I’m sorry I lied to you for so long, I just… I didn’t know how to deal with it when it happened and after you got yours… you were so happy, I just—” 

“Hyuck,” Jaemin throws him an urgent look. “I am so sorry. I— I had no idea.”

“I know. I should have told you,” he sighs, placing his chin on top of his knees. “Anyway, after Mark left… I guess it just hit me. I felt broken, like there was something missing, like I was… damaged… less than a person. I thought I was destined to be alone,” he laughs weakly. “It sounds kinda silly now that I said it out loud.”

“It’s not,” Jaemin assures him with kind eyes. “But you know that’s not right, Hyuck. That dumb vision doesn’t make you less of a person, _nothing_ that’s out of your control will ever make you less of a person,” he places a comforting hand on his knee. “You are the coolest person I know, I promise.”

“I know,” he flashes a grin. “It doesn’t affect me as much anymore, as of this year. I mean it does, but at least now I’m working towards overcoming it.”

“That’s great, Hyuck!”

“Yeah.”

Jaemin frowns. “But why are you crying?” 

Donghyuck rubs his eyes for the umpteenth time. “Because I’m in love with Jeno,” he breathes out, barely audible, and Jaemin gasps. “I’m in love with him, Jaem. And it scares me so fucking much.”

“Shit. I thought that couldn’t happen to you.”

“You and me both.”

Jaemin straightens his back, stretching his arms and wrapping one around Donghyuck’s slumped shoulders. “What are you gonna do about it?” 

“I’m not so sure anymore,” Donghyuck muses, shifting to cross his legs. “What did you and Renjun do?” 

Jaemin shrugs. “Oh, you know. I avoided him for weeks and then I asked him out in the middle of a convenience store.” 

Donghyuck snorts. “Tasteless.”

“Excuse you. It was romantic as fuck,” says with a scowl. 

“Sure.”

“Listen. Think about it, but don’t worry too much. You’ll know what to do when the moment comes, trust me,” Jaemin says with a small smile. “And word of advice: don’t look into the future. It ruins the magic.”

Donghyuck curls his lip in distaste. “What if there won’t be any magic? Wouldn’t it be wiser to know in advance?” 

“Well, that’s the thing, my friend,” Jaemin grins. “It’s the ‘normal people’ way. It sucks when something bad happens, but it’s that much more rewarding when it’s something good!” he explains, gesturing vaguely at the ceiling.

“Sounds dumb.” 

“It is. But it’s also pretty exciting,” he says, scrunching his nose at him. Donghyuck hums. “Oh and also. Just because you didn’t get a vision, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have a soulmate, you know. Don’t lose hope.” 

Donghyuck smiles. A genuine smile, at that. “Thanks, Jaem.” He looks down at the wine stain on his stomach. “Sorry about your shirt.” 

Jaemin waves him off. “It’s okay, you’ll buy me another one.”

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. “Will I now?

“Yup.”

“You think you can take advantage of my emotional state and trick me like this?”

“I don’t think, I _know_ I can.” 

Donghyuck scoffs. “Gold digger.” 

“You love me.”

“I take it back, I’m not sorry. That shirt is hideous.”

Jaemin pretends to flip his hair. “Keep telling yourself that.” 

#  **11.**

“Make sure to put that in the fridge as soon as you get home!” Jaemin instructs with a firm gaze, leaning against the front door frame.

“I will.” 

“I’d advise you to move it to a pot. The plastic gives it a weird taste after a few hours.”

Donghyuck grimaces as he finishes tying his shoes.

“It’s not very unpleasant, but you know, better safe than sorry.”

“Sure,” Donghyuck agrees upon grabbing the casserole. 

“Drive safe. I’ll come by tomorrow,” Jaemin offers a big smile. 

He was always like this when Donghyuck’s parents announced they’d be away for more than a week. Always cooking a little more than needed, pretending he “ _just had an extra steak lying around_ ” or he “ _miscalculated the measurements, so now it’s too much food for one person_ ”. Donghyuck knew Jaemin _never_ makes cooking mistakes and frankly, he wasn’t sure why he was extra mindful to begin with, seeing as Donghyuck usually eats out even when his parents are at home, but after seeing the proud grin on his face, Donghyuck decided to stop resisting his mother hen behaviour. Besides, he had a soft spot for Jaemin’s cooking.

“Okay, _mum_ ,” Donghyuck teases, earning an eye roll.

“Don’t do anything stupid!” Jaemin yells as Donghyuck walks down the stairs.

“Can’t promise that!” 

\---

“Have a nice evening!” the cashier says, and Donghyuck reciprocates as he pushes open the door.

He struggles with the grocery bag and he mutters a string of whispered curses as he treads the dark alleyway back to his car. 

_Stupid town with no stupid parking spots._

He lifts a hand to zip his jacket just as a shiver goes down his spine. It’s early March and the weather isn’t particularly cold, but Donghyuck has a feeling the narrow, hardly lit shortcut he chose to walk on has more to do with the uneasiness settling in the pit of his stomach anyway. He gets a short vision and lets out a deep sigh as two men enter the other side of the alleyway, walking towards him. He keeps his head high, dead set on ignoring them and turning the corner to where his car was waiting for him, but unfortunately the universe has other plans, as one of the strangers blocks his path with a cocky whistle. 

“Hey there, pretty. Where are you going in such a hurry?” he asks with a smile. 

“Beat it,” Donghyuck says in an even voice, trying to slip past him.

“Wow wow wow. Not so fast,” the man takes a step back, placing a hand on the brick wall next to him and blocking his path. “There’s no reason to be rude. I asked you nicely. Isn’t that right, Jinyoung?”

“That’s right, hyung,” the other man replies before returning to his open-mouthed gum chewing. Donghyuck wants to punch him. 

“I’m not interested in conversation, thanks,” he insists, right hand hidden in his pocket, desperately searching for his trusty pepper spray. He groans when he realises he most likely left it in the car. 

“That’s okay, there’s plenty of other stuff we can do. How about we go somewhere a little cozier?” the man whispers in a honeyed voice, hand darting forward to grip the underside of his chin. Donghyuck opens his mouth to protest, or maybe bite him, but before he gets to do either of those things, he hears a familiar voice behind him.

“Don’t touch him,” Jeno warns gravely and a look of surprise finds Donghyuck’s features. 

“And who the fuck are you?” 

“He said he’s not interested. Take a hint,” Jeno continues, voice calm as he grabs Donghyuck’s wrist to position himself between him and the stranger. Donghyuck’s heart stops beating for a second.

“Oh, is he your boyfriend?” the man snorts. “Hey, I’m sorry bro. Didn’t mean to mess with your bitch,” he laughs and Jeno visibly tenses. 

He lets out a grim chuckle and takes a step forward, curling his fists. “Whether or not I’m his boyfriend shouldn’t influence the respect you give him. He’s not someone’s property, you dipshit, he’s a human being,” he seethes, voice as low as it can get. Donghyuck feels the hair at the back of his neck stand. “Now get the fuck out of here before I break your legs.” 

\---

“Ah!”

“Stay put.”

“It _hurts_!” Jeno whines, leaning away from his hand.

Donghyuck grabs his chin, bringing his face closer than before. He doesn’t miss the way Jeno’s breath hitches as the newfound proximity. 

“And whose fault is that?!” he scolds, moving his chair closer to where Jeno sits on the edge of his bed. 

“I thought I’d just scare them away. I didn’t expect them to start throwing punches,” Jeno pouts and he looks so unbelievably adorable that Donghyuck lets it slide. 

There’s a comfortable silence as Donghyuck cleans the bruise on his cheekbone, trying his best to focus on the q-tip and not on the way Jeno’s firm gaze scans his face. He moves to nurse his split lip and he briefly thinks he might be sitting a little too close to his face for someone with perfect vision. Not that he minds, honestly. 

“You grew out your hair,” Jeno observes, hot breath ghosting over Donghyuck’s hand. 

He lifts it to touch the tips at his nape, as if to confirm the length. “I did. Do you like it?” 

“Yeah. It’s pretty,” Jeno replies and a blush creeps up Donghyuck’s neck.

He makes a mistake. His eyes flicker to Jeno’s and for a split second, he sees the vulnerability and softness on his face. His heart starts pounding like crazy and he returns to staring at his slightly parted lips, which, in all honesty, isn’t much better. 

“At least I got in some punches, too,” Jeno says with a proud smile before wincing in pain due to the pressure on his lip. 

Donghyuck snorts. “I think me kneeing them in the crotch did more damage, but sure.” 

“Oh, c’mon, that punch to the nose is gonna leave a pretty big scar, I think,” he laughs, knees bumping into Donghyuck’s absentmindedly. 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jen,” he mumbles, a fond smile growing on his lips as he tilts his head to care for one last bruise. 

“If anything, it’s a badass story.”

“What, you showing up as I’m being harassed only to get your ass beat?”

Jeno glares. “No, me _saving_ you from being harassed by landing some sweet punches.” 

“You were a good diversion while I messed with their chances of reproducing, I’ll agree to that.” 

“That’s not the story _I’m_ gonna tell.” 

Donghyuck laughs. _This is nice_. He throws the q-tip aside and looks down to where Jeno’s right hand rests on his knee. It doesn’t seem too affected, but there are some cuts where he likely grazed it against the exposed brick walls of the alleyway. 

“Dumbass,” he mumbles, taking it into his own hand and wiping it clean. 

He goes to place it back on his knee, but Jeno squeezes lightly, eyes boring into Donghyuck’s face. He gives in and faces him properly. There are dark circles around his tired eyes, messy black hair falling into them, and Donghyuck frowns at his bruises. Jeno looks at him expectantly, an unspoken urgency in his eyes and a hint of something else he doesn’t recongnise. Donghyuck feels breathless as he’s hit with the realisation of how much he’d missed him, a strong desire to lurch forward into his arms growing in his chest. There’s a tension filling the air and his throat feels like it might close up if he continues staring at him, so the chime of his phone is a welcomed distraction. 

They both turn their heads to where Donghyuck’s phone lay next to Jeno’s thigh. 

**mark lee [11:27 PM]**

**that’s okay haha! once again i hope everything is alright…**

Jeno quirks an eyebrow and Donghyuck snatches the phone to check the full message. He feels bad enough already for keeping him on read for four months. 

**17 Nov 2021**

**mark lee [12:17 AM]**

**hey donghyuck :) i’m back from canada haha**

**i was wondering if you’d like to get a coffee sometime to catch up!**

**as friends this time, i promise. it’s totally fine if you don’t want to tho!!**

**i hope you’re good~**

  
  


**5 Mar 2022**

**donghyuck [5:03 PM]**

**hi mark! sorry for not answering for so long.**

**i’ve thought about it and i think meeting up would be too uncomfortable for me.**

**i hope canada was nice and i’m sorry for being so abrupt with you when you left :(**

  
  


**mark lee [11:27 PM]**

**that’s okay haha! once again i hope everything is alright with you and don’t worry, i totally understand~ i’ll see you around :D**

Donghyuck sighs in relief before typing out a response.

**donghyuck [11:29 PM]**

**yeah, i’ll see you around :)**

He puts his phone down and grabs a bandaid, gently sticking it to Jeno’s cheekbone.

He clears his throat. “So that was Mark.” 

Jeno hums in response. “Yeah. I saw.”

“He’s back from Canada,” Donghyuck says, an overwhelming panic blooming in his stomach. 

“I know,” Jeno replies halfheartedly, and Donghyuck hides his surprised face. “I saw him at the store today.” 

“Did you ask him out?” he asks with feigned nonchalance, avoiding his eyes. “I assume you’re more confident now.”

Jeno lets out an amused chuckle. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” Donghyuck leans back in his chair, placing the medical supplies back in the first aid kit and setting it on the bed. “Isn’t that what you want? Mark?”

“Not anymore. I haven’t wanted Mark in a long time,” he breathes out, gaze not once leaving Donghyuck's face.

Donghyuck’s heart skips a beat at the implications.

“I miss you,” Jeno says, voice raw and tentative. “And not in a ‘warm bed after sex’ kind of way. Don’t get me wrong, that was nice too, but I miss _you_. The playful banter, the spontaneous dinner dates that we would never admit were dates, the cuddles, your overly dramatic rants about the slightest inconveniences. Your smile. Knowing I caused it, I miss it.” 

Donghyuck stills, his entire body gone cold. “So what are you saying?” he whispers.

“I’m saying I have feelings for you,” Jeno blurts out, looking down to where his hands are toying with the hem of his hoodie. Donghyuck’s heart swells at the sight of his sweater paws. “I’m saying there hasn’t been a single day in the last four months when I didn’t think of texting you, calling you, seeing you… _something._ ”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Donghyuck croaks out. 

“When I first realised it, I was scared. I didn’t know where we stood and it took me a while to process my feelings. Turns out going from ‘I can’t stand the dude’ to ‘I wanna hold his hand for the rest of my life’ isn’t as easy as it may seem,” he jokes and Donghyuck’s eyes widen. _He wants to what now?_

“Eventually I wanted to confess, that’s why I came to that party in November. But then I saw you with Yukhei… and I thought maybe that’s what you need. The whole ‘no strings attached’ deal.” Donghyuck instinctively shakes his head. “I couldn’t offer you that anymore…” Jeno pauses to take a deep breath. “I also thought about your soulmate and I figured we were a double dead end. But then I realised maybe it’s not the case,” he throws him a knowing look and Donghyuck gets it.

“Oh. You talked to Jaemin.”

“Yeah,” he giggles. “He said you called me a shagmaster.”

“Of course he did.” Donghyuck makes a mental note to kick his best friend in the shin. 

“Anyway,” he takes Donghyuck’s hand in his own, absentmindedly playing with his fingers. “I’m really sorry I hurt you. I got so caught up in my feelings for you and the fear of rejection…” he shakes his head. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“I’m sorry I laughed at you for being a coward,” Donghyuck manages as soon as he stops obsessing over the way Jeno’s thumb is caressing his hand.

Jeno blinks, an amused smile on his lips. “That’s… We could work on the wording. But it’s okay.”

Donghyuck smiles, leaning forward to brush the bangs out of his face.

“Hyuck,” Jeno calls, a little pointlessly, seeing as their faces are a few inches apart. “Do you maybe wanna date? Me?” His lips curl into a playful smile and Donghyuck decides right then and there he’s done with suppressing his feelings. So he surges forward and curls his arms around Jeno’s neck, pressing their lips together and forcing him to fall back on the bed in the process. It’s only a peck, chaste and simple, but the weight of the confession ingrained onto it is evident in the way they sigh into it, bodies melting into the hug like it’s the most natural thing in the world. 

Jeno wraps his arms around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer and soon Donghyuck grows impatient, tongue darting out, asking for entrance. Jeno grants it and then immediately whines.

“Ahh, my lip! It hurts,” he complains.

Donghyuck frowns at him. “You just had to be the hero, didn’t you?” he seethes, with no bite. “I’ve been waiting for so long to kiss you again and now I have to wait even more! Dumbass,” he scolds, perhaps a little too dramatically.

Jeno grins. “I love you,” he confesses with a bop on his nose.

Donghyuck scoffs, though not unkindly, as his face softens immediately after, a wave of warmth spreading in his entire body. “I love you too,” he replies, and as he stares at his boyfriend’s stupidly gorgeous face, he’s strangely reminded of the boy from the university hallway he made up almost four years ago. _Huh. Maybe I got a soulmate after all._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!  
> kudos and criticism are appreciated :D  
> you can also come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/yongtenz)!


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